Space for God is everywhere: Justin’s story
When Justin shared his story with us, I (Esther) just had to laugh because one of the first things he said was, “I learned how to truly listen. Sounds simple right?” 🙃
I laughed because I knew exactly what he meant. Listening seems like the simplest thing in the world - we all know how to listen, right??
Nope. We don’t. But as Justin’s story reminds us, there is so much beauty to find when we learn how to truly listen.
As Justin put it, "When you learn to listen, your relationships deepen, your faith strengthens, and space for God is everywhere.”
So let’s unpack that. The most obvious aspect of Spiritual Listening is about learning to listen to other people. As Justin says, “The cohort taught me what it is like to provide space to truly listen to another person, something which now I am applying in so many spaces in my life.”
He was skeptical at first, having never been a part of anything quite like this before, but by keeping an open mind, he was able to learn to listen to himself too.
“The cohort of beautiful people I was a part of also showed me that I'm not alone in many of the struggles. I found a community to have open and honest discussions and not be judged for it was a huge relief. I felt the walls come down and provide a safe space to learn, grow and explore who I am… When you are in such a safe space you connect on deeper levels and that is the true beauty of what spiritual listening provides.”
But a deeper layer of Spiritual Listening is learning to listen to God: “For too long recently I had been dismissive of how much of a role God has been playing in my life and in others lives around me… God is everywhere, for all of it…this Spiritual Listening cohort was a reminder that the power of God does not reside in action but in ability to have and keep a line of communication - of listening and being heard.”
If you’re feeling hesitant about a cohort like this, you’re not alone. Justin wasn’t quite sure what he was getting himself into! But in the end he said, “I'm glad I did because it allowed me to be fully honest with myself and learn to understand how I interact with other people and how God is everywhere, for all of it.”
With gratitude,
Esther + Beth