Walking in the Labyrinth

This week during confirmation class the students had the opportunity to walk a labyrinth. As one of the leaders for that section I was blessed to walk it 4 times in an hour. I was amazed how with each trip, even with such short time in between, there was a new message being spoken, a new insight being gleaned. 

For those who are not familiar with labyrinths, they are an ancient tool for prayer. It is like a maze, with the notable exception that there isn’t a way to get lost - there is only one path to follow. And you are supposed to slowly work your way through. Often you enter into the labyrinth with a question, reflecting upon it and listening for God as you go. However, for me I like to just enter in and hear what God has to say.

The first time I had a lyric from an old hymn that kept going through my mind. “Assist me to proclaim.” I am reminded every day that this is a vocation I have been called into by God and that I cannot do apart from the grace of God. This Sunday after worship I had a gentleman who has only been to the church a few times come up to me with a word of blessing - stating that every time he has wondered in that the exact word for his need has been spoken. In response I told him exactly what I felt - that it was only by God that was possible. Its by God’s spirit that we are lead to where we need to go, and to what we need to say, and what we need to do. Do we always get it right? Of course not. Probably far too often our very selves get in the way. But if we look to God to assist us, to lead us, the fruit is ripe for the harvest.

The first time through I was also the last one to go. Which means I was the last one to exit. It was amazing to have a group of teens sit in silence and watch you navigate slowly through the path. For a while, when I first noticed that I was the only one left, it was a bit nerve racking. But then I realized that this was a gift. The gift of solitude in the midst of people. 

The second time going through the labyrinth I entered in with the common phrase/ prayer “Come Lord Jesus” and immediately I perceived, “I am already here”. We pray for the Spirit to come, but how often do we look for the Spirit to already be before us, already be working in our midst? There is an old prayer that says, “Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ above me, Christ below me, Christ beside me” - yet we only look for Christ where we have seen him before instead of looking for his leading and presence in every aspect of our lives.

The third time, I kept noticing the others praying their way through the labyrinth. They passed me. We could seem to be right beside each other but really we were in completely different places, sometimes even going opposite directions. During this time, one of my toddlers from church was going through the labyrinth with his mom, who had graciously set it up for our use. He reached out for me at one point and touched my hand. It was beautiful that even on the path we still have so many others that we are with, even if just for a moment in time.

The last time, I once again realized what a gift this time was, for it allowed me to slow down. To go at a pace that is contrary to how I normally go - rushing from one place to the next. From one person who wants my attention to the next. This was my time with God to be the focus of all of my attention and energy - so much so that I ended up with a line of about five students behind me - all following me and having to move at my pace. They were following my lead on their own journeys, which is such a testament to what it means to be a servant leader.