Good morning…
One week from today we will begin a new semester of learning in our living room, exploring the wisdom of When The Heart Waits. I am intrigued by the words of author Sue Monk Kidd. Sue writes: “Is it possible,” I asked myself, “that I’m being summoned from some deep and holy place from within? Am I being asked to enter a new passage in my spiritual life – the journey from false self to true self? Am I being asked to dismantle old masks and patterns and unfold a deeper, more authentic self – the one God created me to be?”
My heart wonders with God, “What does it truly mean to be summoned?”
To be summoned is to be called upon to do something specific. “Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he” (Isaiah 441:4, NLT). From the One True God, might we be receiving a message, a signal, a personal invitation?
With God’s Spirit alive in our hearts, we sense a summons surfacing from a deep and holy place. But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you…he who formed you… “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1, NIV). Is it time to enter a new passage in our spiritual life?
Journeying away from our well-defended false self, we are being asked to dismantle outdated masks, to shed self-defeating patterns. I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name (Isaiah 45:2-3, NIV). Gradually unfolding, might we sense a deeper, more authentic self emerging, the true self God created us to be, the life of Christ maturing in us?
If you also feel intrigued by the words of Sue Monk Kidd, I invite you to order your own copy of this sacred book, to read alongside us with the syllabus I will provide, and to enjoy the blog posts blossoming from this beloved book, as our hearts wait to wake up into more and more and more.
…Sue…
P.S. To register for this class or to explore other Women’s Ministry offerings through Northside Church in Atlanta, Georgia, please touch on this link: https://northsideyouth.wufoo.com/forms/womenas-ministry-2019-spring-classes/
