The Comforts of Language: Discovering a New One through Spiritual Direction

Photo by cyrus gomez on Unsplash

​The comforts
    of language
      are true
         and deep;
 
writes Mary Oliver at the start of “If You Say It Right, It Helps the Heart Bear It” in Evidence.
 
Language is important. 
Every area of life has its own language whether the world of science or business, music or 12-step groups, the same is true for the world of spiritual direction.
 
One of the first things people notice when coming to spiritual direction is it offers a new kind of language. 


For those suffering from religious abuse, the language itself can be a balm for the soul.  After her first session of spiritual direction, a woman said to me, “The words ‘deep permission’ and ‘invitation’…I’ve just never considered Jesus offering me those, it feels extravagant.  But I feel such relief to think that God would be giving me permission and inviting me into something so healing…those words alone have been a revelation today.”
 
No language is perfect, but it helps convey something of essence or experience.  Words like hospitality, authenticity, curiosity, allowing, and stirring, offer a different way of entering into a conversation about God and with God. 
 
A youth and children’s pastor started using this language of invitation and curiosity during spiritual direction. He has come for a while so has become familiar with thinking about and entering into the spiritual life in some different ways.  Hearing him talk warmed my heart, because I knew he was integrating this language of the soul into his work with children and teenagers.
 
As we enter more deeply into these words and find them life-giving, we cannot help but integrate them into our own vocabulary where or when it seems right.  However, the irony in all of this, is that spiritual direction isn’t about words at all!
 
We spend a lot of time helping people befriend Silence and the One Who is Beyond All Words.  When we and others do speak, the words can be very powerful because they begin with God in Silence.  And they can be equally powerful when we do not speak the words, but embody them.
 
I’m reminded of a woman who told me she saw a symbol of another religion in her adult daughter’s home that made her cringe.  Usually she would have spoken her mind right away.  As she felt her daughter’s eyes on her, she resolved to bring the matter to spiritual direction instead. 
 
“Way to go!” I told her, “Way to wait and take it into the Silence with God!”  By the end of our session she exclaimed, “Praise God, I’m so glad I didn’t react because it would not have been the right response but one full of fear and judgement.  Instead I want to invite her to tell me about it.  I want to hear her story.” 

“And you may learn something really interesting!” I added. Then she asked if there was anything she could read in order to expand her own thinking.  After suggesting a book, I said "What a beautiful conversation this is going to be with your daughter!  I can't wait to hear about it!" 

What a wise mother of an adult daughter she is!
 
So words can welcome and invite connection, and words can help us name, describe, and discover even more.  But there is no final word—whether it be about God, ourselves, each other, or spiritual direction.  We're always growing and expanding...and that’s part of the fun!

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