Discernment Exercises

Each one of us is called to live the truth of our unrepeatable uniqueness. 

A delightful Jewish parable makes this point. When Rabbi Eleazar died and arrived in heaven, as the legend goes, he was worried about his degree of holiness. He wondered whether God was going to be angry with him. He imagined God cross-questioning him about his way of life, saying, ​“Tell me, why did you not become like Abraham, the man of faith, or like Moses, the man of action?” However, when God approached the rabbi, the question was altogether different. ​“Tell me, my son,” asked God quietly, ​“why did you not become Rabbi Eleazar?”

Becoming the person God wants us to be is not as simple as it sounds. Certainly it has not been for me. Getting along in this world often means pretending to be who we are not. We wear masks that reflect how we want others to see us. We pretend to have it all together when we are really falling apart inside. We say that we are fine when we are struggling. We give the impression that we are strong when we feel fragile. We try to look brave when we are scared. We cover feelings of resentment with a veneer of niceness. In the end, we move further and further away from the person God wants us to be until we cannot distinguish between the masks we put on and who we really are.… As we bring them all to God, a gradual transformation begins taking place within us. We begin to show up as the person God wants us to be. We embrace God’s personal will for our lives.…

This transformative journey involves a courageous honesty to acknowledge and accept who we really are, to share who we are with trusted companions, and to let God’s Spirit birth that unique, loving person we were created to be.

You can begin this transforming journey right now. Here are some simple steps: 

• Know that you are infinitely precious to God, who always delights in you.
• Give thanks to God for the hidden mystery of your being.
• Reflect on that gap between the external self you show to those around you and your present self, with all its light and darkness. Put your arms around all the beautiful, bruised, and broken bits of your life. Celebrate the good news that you are known, loved, and accepted by God in Christ as you are.
• Remind yourself that you do not need to pretend in the company of the Divine Presence. Offer all of yourself to the Compassionate One, who longs to welcome you.
• Give consent to the Holy Spirit, who wants to help you become fully yourself.

Repeat this practice often as you embark on this discerning journey into God’s personal will for your life.