SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR TO BEGIN PRACTICE
AT ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Laure Schwartz is now offering Spiritual Direction to the Stillwater community at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 609 South Fifth Street (parking lot at the corner of Walnut and Fourth Street - across from the Historic Courthouse). 

Spiritual Direction is an opportunity to discover God's desire for the individual and is an attempt to live out the true self that God intends. Each person learned to adapt to life, often denying the more authentic self which God created. One's soul will feel the incongruence when there is an attempt to adapt in ways God did not intend, and that will often be noticed in unsettling ways. The spiritual journey includes an intentional attempt to listen to one's inner life or soul with the Spiritual Director. That person then assists with discernment through listening, silence and prayer. The Spiritual Director helps to discover God's intention, which can then be transforming and fulfilling. The pathway toward wholeness is a journey worth taking.Trained through the graduate program at Saint Catherine University in St. Paul, Laure Schwartz can be seen at St. Paul Lutheran Church by making an appointment by phone (612-269-9635) or by email at laure.a.schwartz@comcast.net   A private one-hour session is $35 and a group session of three or more people is $15 per person. 

Psalm 84:5  "Blessed are those who find their strength in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."  The most exasperating stranger I've had to walk with is myself.  I go through life juggling my tourist pilgrim heart.  There is a part of me that longs to be a pilgrim.  I was born a seeker.  I want to travel to all the holy places of the universe, including my own poor heart.  I long to stand barefoot on holy ground . . . .

I stand on the edge of myself and wonder,
Where is home?
Oh, where is the place
where beauty will last?

When will I be safe?
And where?
My tourist heart is wearing me out
I am so tired of seeking
for treasures that tarnish.

How much longer, Lord?
Oh, which way is home?
My luggage is heavy
It is weighing me down.
I am hungry for the holy ground of home.

Then suddenly, overpowering me
with the truth, a voice within me
gentles me, and says:

There is a power in you, a truth in you
that has not yet been tapped.
Your are blinded
with a blindness that is deep
for you've not loved the pilgrim in you yet.

There is a road that runs straight through your heart.
Walk on it.

To be a pilgrim means
to be on the move, slowly
to notice your luggage becoming lighter
to be seeking for treasures that do not rust
to be comfortable with your heart's questions
to be moving toward the holy ground of home
with empty hands and bare feet.

And yet, you cannot reach that home
until you've loved the pilgrim in you.
One must be comfortable
with pilgrimhood
before one's feet can touch the homeland.

Do you want to go home?
There's a road that runs straight through your heart.
Walk on it.

By Macrina Weiderkehr, Seasons of the Heart

 Comments from a clients of Spiritual Direction:

I came to spiritual direction by way of a group direction. This provided a much needed network of woman friends who I knew would support me spiritually and emotionally. As our group graduated from seminary and moved on, I sought individual spiritual direction. Not to be confused with psychotherapy or counseling, rather direction of a spiritual nature given by a most compassionate, caring, loving and humorous woman whom I trust implicitly. Laure's guided imagery and suggested topics for my meditation have proven to be so helpful, often unlocking doors which have been shut in my heart possibly for decades. Laure listens with her heart open to whatever I have to say and whatever emotions I may display. She is completely affirming and offers her direction as suggestions. Because I know she is firmly grounded in her Christian faith, I know that she comes to our meetings as a centered vessel for guiding all those who seek her direction. KB

Benefits of Spiritual Direction:

Sometimes when I’m telling friends about how spiritual direction has impacted my life I’m tempted to say “I’m a completely different person” -- my days feel so different because of how God has been at work in my life. I think a truer statement is that “I am more myself than I have been in a long time”. Knowing my own voice and being open to God’s guidance has brought me tremendous peace. JS