On Becoming A Spiritual Director
FROM SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR ANDREA MARSHALL
Do you remember as a kid being asked the question “What would you like to do when you grow up?” I dreaded that question as I never knew what I wanted to do. I was generally able to come up with some sort of answer, but I was never fully satisfied with my response & often struggled to imagine my potential.
During my junior year of college, I was sitting on the college green with the giant paper handbook of “Choosing a Major.” The deadline was looming & I needed to decide what to major in. I was good at math, but I didn't want to spend my days crunching numbers. Blood scared me, so a degree in nursing was out. Teaching seemed reasonable, but I wasn't thrilled about the program at my university. I felt really stuck. I wanted to commit to doing something that I enjoyed & that I was good at.
After scouring the pages, I finally landed on an obscure degree titled “Family Studies.” What drew me to the degree was learning about human life stages. I spent my last two years of college interning with different groups ranging from toddlers to the elderly. My days were spent listening to, caring for, & being with people.
Fast forward 10 years & I had spent some time working at various child welfare organizations. To further my career I was planning on going back to school to start a Masters of Social Work program, but those plans changed significantly when I found out I was pregnant with my eldest son. To make a long story short, he wasn't exactly planned & I was extremely nervous & overwhelmed. I was scared to become a mother, yet I moved forward watching my body grow & my heart slowly expand. On a late night in October, my son arrived into the light & almost immediately, peace flooded over me. I felt God’s presence with me in a way like never before. The days of motherhood turned into weeks, then into months, & I continued to find myself thriving as I cared for this little person & entrusted him to God.
Fast forward another 10 years & two more babies later, to the fall of 2020 when my husband, Ryan, encouraged me to take the Transformational Listening class through PAX Center. I wasn’t filled with panic like I was when I found out I was pregnant, but I was thinking through all of the logistics, wondering, “it’s a pandemic, where will I find the energy, how are we going to make this work, do I have the time, etc?” Even though the option to say no was enticing, I leaned into the class & found myself brilliantly surprised by God. Each month as I drew closer to God, the feeling of God’s peace & purpose continued to grow.
The monthly rhythm of Transformational Listening 1 (TL1) turned into a greater commitment the following fall with Transformational Listening 2 (TL2) as I had decided with the encouragement of others to keep moving forward to become trained as Spiritual Director. The new monthly commitment of TL2 quickly became one of my favorite days. I looked forward to setting aside an entire Saturday to learn about Spiritual Direction, try new spiritual practices, & process with other cohort members. Those precious Saturdays were a time for me to wrestle & wonder with others about what God was doing in our lives. Each month there was time that was set apart & set aside for me to grow in my relationship with God & I savored it.
Over a span of two years, I continued to meet people who said “amen” to the direction that I was moving in. Women I had been meeting with for Spiritual Direction wanted to continue to be my clients. New women approached me & asked if I had space in my schedule to meet for direction. I felt supported & encouraged & in June 2022 I became certified as a Spiritual Director. I was thrilled! Yes, I was scared to jump into something new, but I was also really proud of what I had accomplished & who I have been becoming.
The question “What do you want to do when you grow up?” rings a little differently these days. The answer comes much easier when I think less about what I want to do, but instead who I want to BE. Often, I think we can get stuck when we are too focused on what we are doing.
Has there been a gentle nudge or maybe even a loud roar on who God is asking you to BE today? I want to be someone who cares for, listens to, & helps people encounter God. I want to be drawn to & in relationship with God. I want to be this person in my home as a mother & wife, in my practice of Spiritual Direction, & continually embracing this posture in relationships in my community. What about you? What would you like to be today?
Have you ever thought about becoming a spiritual director? If so, we’d love to help you explore this call. We have a two-year certificate program with the first year being a chance to explore to learn more & see if this is something God is inviting you into. Learn more about year 1 below!