Your Inner Door: Sacred Circle Reflection
A Reflection by Christine Jurisich
Listen to this reflection on YouTube
It sounds so simple. How many times a day do you open a door to enter a room, a closet, a store, a friend’s home? Yet when we are talking about opening the door to God’s love, it can be anything but simple. It takes time and courage to:
Notice the desire to open the door
set boundaries on the distractions that get in the way of approaching
reflect on whether it feels safe to even walk down the hallway
make the intention
reach out your hand and open it
hope you feel led through with a loving and merciful God.
This month, we invite you to join us for our online retreat, “The Journey Within: Opening the Door to God’s Love.” This is the most meaningful journey we can ever go on, and it is a lifelong one. It is easier to journey through it when you have companions walking alongside you, sharing, listening, and holding your sacred story with respect and love. This is our intention with all of our retreats, yet we always hold this one in an extra special way, knowing that taking a journey within can be a tender experience.
All this month, I will be inviting you to reflect on opening your door to the Divine with short excerpts from the retreat. This week, I invite you to reflect on what your inner door may look like with a few of the images participants will use in a door meditation. Take a look at these doors.
Which one speaks to your inner door?
Which one speaks to your desire, longings, apprehension, or fear?
Before I was introduced to a more personal experience of God, I lived life as if I were on a stage performing. The Divine was up above and a detached being from me. I had a checklist of what I needed to do to be a good Christian. I compartmentalized my faith to Sundays at church. At that time, I would not have known what to do with the door metaphor. The Sacred seemed too distant. As I grew in awareness of God as an experience within, my faith became integrated into my daily life. My prayer became more conversational and contemplative. I grew in awareness of God as the ground of my being, as Infinite Being.
As my prayer life deepens, I have become more aware of a pathway to the Divine. I recognize the rhythm of opening and closing the door, depending on what is happening in my life and when old wounds reappear. There are times when my door is wide open. I let go of my anxiety and surrender to whatever the future holds. I am open to new ideas about who the Sacred is and is not for me. I also experience dark times when I feel sad and lonely. My fears get the best of me, and I keep my door closed. I do not feel like reaching out, and my familiar prayer practices stop resonating with me. During these times, I know in my head that the Divine resides within, yet I do not feel Presence in my heart.
I share all of this to make the point that all of this opening and closing of doors (and not even knowing what a pathway looks or feels like) is normal and part of the human journey. Life is complicated. Past hurts, disappointments, betrayal, and loss can leave you feeling like you are not sure if you want to trust God and form a relationship.
I hope the door imagery invites you to sort through questions that may be buried in your heart and honors the complex experience of opening and closing. May the belief in the endless love on the other side give you the courage to engage in the journey.
Reflect: Which picture resonates with you and why? How may it speak to where you are or want to be on your personal faith journey?
This will be the question offered in our Sacred Circles this month, and we will share these pictures. As always, you will be invited to share this question with the invitation to share whatever is rising in you as a result of the reflection.
Did this reflection resonate with you?
Share your thoughts in a Sacred Circle. New people always welcome.
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