Recently, I made an appointment with a Spiritual Director. I had one up until our move to North Dakota, two and a half years ago. A Spiritual Director is a person who has been trained in helping people discern what God is up to in his/her life. At our first meeting, he asked me to tell him about what prompted me to seek spiritual direction at this time. I told him a few things that I thought may have prompted me. Then he asked me a question, “Where do you think God is in your ministry?” I began talking about where I thought we needed to move, how we had grown, and what some challenges still were. I talked on for about twenty-five minutes, until it was time for my appointment to be over. He then said, “I asked you a little while ago, ‘Where do you think God is in your ministry?’ and you told me a lot about what you are doing. Where is God in it?” I looked at him puzzled. He continued, “Often in ministry we are busy and we ask God to come along with us. But, what is God doing in you and in your people? What is God inviting you to do? Do you see the difference?”

It was like a light bulb being turned on in a dark room! Recognizing the risen Christ was what happened after Jesus walked the Emmaus road with two of the disciples and as he “took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them (Luke 24:30).”

Recognizing Christ is what it is about! Recognizing what Christ is doing and orienting our lives around it is so different than doing a lot of things in the name of Christ.

I find myself now more centered, more peaceful, more focused! It is one thing to follow the lead of the risen Christ and it is another to create a spiritual community on your own!

Do we recognize His presence?