When my dear friend recently invited me to spend an hour with her at a prayer labyrinth, I was both intrigued and concerned that I would not be able to quiet myself long enough to make it through. Depending on which type of personality profile you are using, I am an enneagram 3-achiever, type A, lion, bull/lamb and doer (often to a fault). I had “people to see, places to go” and 10,000 things to do. I had no idea what to expect but agreed to commit an hour of my time for this experience. For me, it turned out to be deeply emotional and meaningful.
My friends tease me because I am a geek about looking up words in the dictionary. Do you know the difference between a labyrinth and a maze? A labyrinth has a single through-route with twists and turns but without branches whereas a maze is a confusing pathway that has many branches, choices of path and dead-ends. With a labyrinth, there is only one way in and one way out, but in a maze, you might take a wrong turn, go the wrong way and end up in a dead end.
We met at the Delaware Art Museum and to my surprise there was a large labyrinth behind the parking lot. The space was formerly a reservoir and is set back in the woods with a round retaining wall around the space. The sun was shining yet there was a lovely coolness to the air and green trees peeked over the wall. It was surprisingly quiet; all you could hear were birds singing. As we walked in, it felt something that I can only describe as magical, which may not be a Christian word, but by the end I realized it was a spiritual experience.
It was explained to us that walking the labyrinth was a prayer practice with three parts:
As we walked in, that was the time for releasing, for laying down burdens and distractions or for coming to God with a question.
As we reached the center, we could stay as long as we wanted there, listening quietly, resting with God, receiving whatever God might offer.
And then, as we walked out of the labyrinth, we were symbolically returning to life with a more intentional focus on joining God at work in the world.
Being type A, I worried that I wouldn’t do this correctly… but then I realized there was no expectation or “right way” to do it. The leader, Amy, had me stop for a moment before I entered. As I came to the first turn, I began to cry. I can’t even tell you why exactly, but I think it was just that I seldom completely pause. The words “Just be” came to me. I spent the next 40 minutes walking slowly into the labyrinth, pausing at each turn.
I released many things that day. For example, one of the things I was convicted about was how easily I was annoyed by people who get in my way of accomplishing my to-do list. God showed me many examples of this in my life during this walk.
When I got to the center, I sat on one of the large stones that was there and just “received” God. I felt emptied of myself in that moment and was very aware of my need for Him. I thought of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God…” Like this message to Israel in the Old Testament, God was saying “stop striving” and open my eyes to who He is. I can’t do this if I never slow down and look.
Lastly, as I walked out of the labyrinth, I thought about the word return. The hour felt too short to me, I would have enjoyed more time there. However, I couldn’t stay in that solitude, I had to return to my life but I wanted to take this feeling with me. I wanted to take with me the absence of myself and my dependence on God. I wanted to keep listening.
In 1 Kings 19:11-12 when Elijah was feeling very weary and afraid, God said to him: “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
If I’m not listening, I’m going to miss the low whisper, the still small voice of God. Like the labyrinth, there is only one way to God – through the Savior and Redeemer, Jesus. And let’s consider how Jesus lived here on Earth. He often pulled away from the hustle and bustle and removed himself to a solitary place. He went away to pray and commune with God.
I want to encourage you to take time to pause and to allow God to speak. We all need some silence in our lives. We all need opportunities for God to talk to us. Your tendencies or your issues may look very different from mine, but God has something to say to each of us. The holiday season will soon be here, and I encourage you to incorporate some solitude and prayer in your life before it begins. I encourage you to give yourself an hour or more of silence and give God a chance to talk to you. Release-Receive-Return. The labyrinth is a wonderful way to do this, but if you can’t manage that, just turn off the phones, the noise, the distractions and spend some time with God. He loves you and He wants to be in a relationship with you. Just listen for His still small voice.
If interested in doing a labyrinth experience, you could check it out on your own at the Delaware Art Museum or reach out to the person who led our experience: Amy Knorr, M.A. Spiritual Formation, North Park Theological Seminary; amycknorr@gmail.com. (The museum is closed on Monday which makes it a great day to use the labyrinth.)
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Bonnie Kotler and her husband Mitch have two daughters, three sons, seven grandchildren and three grand-puppies. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce after receiving her M.S. in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She is a licensed professional counselor at The Peacemaker Center and her own private practice, True North Counseling. Bonnie has been on the Willowdale women’s ministry teaching team since 2012. Bible studies have played a key role in her walk as a believer, and in turn, she loves to help other women find their peace with God and grow in their faith. She enjoys writing Bible study materials, reading fiction, spending time with family and doing anything in the sunshine. Bonnie loves to laugh and considers laughter as the best medicine. Psalm 126:2
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