The Soul Care Epiphany...Part 1

I mentioned in a previous post that I ran into a woman in the restroom at the Willow Creek Arts conference whose session I attended. The woman turned out to be Mindy Caliguire of Soul Care. I sat in her session and was blown away.

Mindy spoke about spiritual development on a level I'm not sure I've ever heard.

Some framework on where this intersected me....

I've always been a "get things done" girl. I'd shrug off John's hug if I was in a mode to do dishes. I would multitask to the point of locking up my computer. (Still do that a bit.) My bosses raved about me. I explored every single fun idea my brain thought up. Tried very hard to be the most amazing mom to my kids and tried to be the most caring/sexiest/thoughtful amazing wife. (In case you're worried, I've learned not to shrug off John's amazing hugs.) I remembered all of the birthdays, bought the teachers gifts and was active in church and volunteer organizations.

The thing is, I got really tired.

Somewhere along the way I learned that you can't live your life taking care of everyone else and ignoring your soul.

As it turns out Mindy had the same ephiphany. (It just so happens that she is way further down the road than I am.)

Mindy framed it this way... "The opposite of simplicity is not complexity. It is duplicity." Let that sink in.

The opposite of simplicity is duplicity.

Mindy talked about simple being the "one thing." Your purpose. Your mission. Any time we try to be something we are not supposed to be...that we were never designed to be...we are working in duplicity.

Every time...

We pretend to be more capable than we really are.
We pretend to have more emotional or time resources than we really have.
We pretend to be more spiritual/holy/good than we really are.

Mindy said to "embrace where you end and where God and others begin."

God has put me in a position to run up against my emotional and physical boundaries this year. I have found limits I never knew existed. Limits I would never fully confess on this blog.

Embracing where I end and where God and others begin would require me to have to depend on other people. To be vulnerable. To actually need community.

Mindy gave me stuff to think about.