A Vibrant Connection
Dec 06, 2023
Blog by Gem Fadling
A few years ago I read Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion. He described in eloquent prose a dynamic that I had experienced, but had not yet found words for.
There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings. . . . In a deeply religious culture people know that the deep level of prayer and of divine attendance is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level that the real business of life is determined. . . . Between the two levels is fruitful interplay, but ever the accent must be upon the deeper level, where the soul ever dwells in the presence of the Holy One.
Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1941), 9.
You are likely familiar with this living-on-two-levels dynamic as well. You are aware of your surroundings, responsibilities, relationships, and tasks…AND…aware of the movements of the Spirit within you.
Even if we are aware of the Spirit within, it takes gracious effort to maintain a connection to that reality of our inner life in an way that informs our relationships and work.
Let's return to the idea that we are always and ever in God's presence. “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
Within this we have our own life, a gift given by God to us. And throughout this life we move through various seasons: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, family, work, midlife, and second-half of life. There are various seasons that we move into, out of, and through over the course of our entire life.
And at the same time all of this is going on, we are praying and worshipping, learning about and connecting with God. We grow better at discerning the work of the Spirit within us.
The key is to continue to grow more and more deeply aware of the connections between what God is doing within us and what is happening around us.
You can learn to craft fresh narratives as you make sense of your life with and in God. There is no actual separation. You are one human with one life: inner and outer.
Our inner life with God informs our outer life. And our outer life expresses our inner life. Do you see the vibrant cycle and exchange that is happening here?
There is an inflow and then an outflow. And ultimately an overflow. We receive from God, God nurtures us from the inside out, and this is how we make our way through the world. We then share with others who we are, what we know, and what we've received.
Within all of this organic process, a life of discernment emerges. Without this awareness about which Kelly speaks, we often look back with regret and forward with worry. However, with this paradigm intact we can look back with discernment and forward with hope. This is a much more welcome process.
Might God be inviting us to become more aware of the divine breathings of the Spirit and how this shapes our interactions and involvements? What might this look like in your life?
Spiritual leadership, at its best, comes from an authentic place within. Our relationship with God and who we are becoming is central to our influence.
Reflection
- How aware are you of this vibrant connection between the levels of your life?
- What does a connection with divine breathings mean to you?
- How might you overflow from that place into your relationships and work?
