Biography of a Soul…notes to a seeker.
Like St. Teresa of Avila, whose Abbess instructed her to write her Autobiography of a Soul, creating a map to follow toward the heart of God, I offer a Biography of a Soul, notes to encourage and equip your heart to seek God’s heart.
Like Screwtape to Wormwood, I make practical suggestions about how to continue toward God’s good will. Read on, won’t you?
Mary Cassatt, The Two Sisters, Public Domain
My Dear Seeker,
You have accepted God’s gracious invitation to come away and be with Jesus. You’ve climbed the mountain to sit with him and hear his voice.
His voice speaks love into your heart, acceptance to your soul, loving correction to your habits, all evidence of the good news of the Kingdom come near you! And now his voice offers you an assignment. He appoints you to carry out a particular task, a perfectly suited role for you, your talents, temperament, gifts, interests, and station in life – this assignment has your name written all over it!
The appointment you’ve been given is not necessarily your livelihood (although that would be ideal!) It is the part of God’s heart you’ve been asked to carry. It is the flock Jesus asks you to shepherd. Consider your life. What ignites your passion? What stirs your anger? For whom or what does your heartbreak? These are indicators of your assignment.
A friend of mine likes to ask people “What floats your boat?” This is his way of asking a person about the activities, causes, or people that energize and animate his or her life. Notice what you think about when you are not thinking about anything in particular. Where does your mind wander, this is another indicator of your particular assignment.
You love music – writing it, playing it, teaching it. No one forces you to sit at the piano and play. You are drawn to it, you enjoy it, it challenges and sharpens you. This is the means through which God asks you to share the good news.
Some people’s assignment is not as obvious as yours. My husband, for instance, loves writing screenplays. He desires to write a script that will be made into a movie. This doesn’t seem very spiritual, does it? Except that his writing requires discipline, he must submit to the exercise of sitting at his computer and writing. Such discipline shapes his soul. And his love of the craft has caused him to gather other people who share this affinity. He meets weekly with 10-12 people to encourage creativity and foster relationships. He brings Jesus with him to these friends. They know the love of God through his love of them. That’s his assignment.
We can talk further about identifying this particular assignment of yours, but the best first step you can take is to look inside your heart.
With you on the journey,
Debby
The Mentored Life 