Your Graced Crossroads
​Reflection 1
Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it and find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16
Opening Prayer: You Work in Mysterious Ways
Lord,
You work in mysterious ways.
It’s not always easy to see the patterns You weave in life.
Sometimes we see your plan, see beauty, like a web illumined by morning light,
but not always.
Sometimes we see them without the light of your love.
Help me, Lord, to understand your ways, and to delight in them.
Amen
Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:10
For I am the least of the apostles,
and not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God,
I am what I am,
and His grace toward me did not prove vain;
but I laboured even more than all of them,
yet not I,
but the grace of God within me.
"Be Like a Seed"
Make yourself relaxed and comfortable then imagine yourself in this time like a seed immersed deep into the soil. What does it feel like? Is it dark? What does it smell like?
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It is a time of waiting…what are you waiting for? Sunlight? Growth? Warmth of friendships? Stay with whatever feelings or images emerge.
Maybe it will take quite some time.
Be patient. Allow for some pruning or letting go. Is there a quiet voice whispering, inviting you to choose life?
You are not alone. God is with you at the crossroads, just as in every nook and cranny of creation.
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“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10)
To choose life at a graced crossroads is always a leap of faith requiring a renewed covenant of cooperation with grace. There are endless ways we can lose our self, but there is only one way home, unique to each of us. Your soul knows its way. You have only to let go of the reins, your illusions of control, and act with courage. You have only to listen for the beckoning love of God as your guide through the graced crossroads.
Personal Reflection and Journaling
Personal Transformation
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Give it a headline. Jot down a headline (a sentence or two) that captures what you experienced as a seed in the soil. Give your story a title.
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What is happening now within me?
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What am I losing or letting go?
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What helps me at these moments of losing my way? What holds me steady? What helps me move up into the sunlight?
Closing Prayer: In You I Trust
Lord, I ask you to listen to my prayer. Help me to trust in you, to believe that no prayer goes unheeded, no word to you is ever uttered in vain, no cry for help ever ignored.
So that through every fear, and whatever anxiety, I may rejoice in your comfort, find strength in your love, know peace in your presence.
Amen.