spiritual direction

"Give ear and come to Me.

Hear me, that your soul may live."

(Isaiah 55:3, NIV 1984)

God delights in each one of us, longs for fellowship with us, and wants us to live more fully into the callings and gifts he has for us.

Spiritual direction is a deliberate relationship of listening to and walking with one another as we seek to know Christ and hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is not life coaching, therapy, or theology class. Rather, you and your spiritual director walk together in faith, learning to recognize what God is already saying and doing in your life.

The director/directee relationship is centered ont he Holy Spirit. The one who directs should, in the most gracious and humble way, use their giftedness to point others to the fullness of God. John the Baptist provides an excellent guidepost for a spiritual director in John chapter 11:

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease."

My name is Barbara Atkinson. My personal journey of spiritual formation began growing up in a Christian home with parents whose faith was central to how they lived their lives and made decisions. I was taught early on the importance of a vital prayer life and being connected to God. The death of my father when I was a child led me into a time of spiritual wilderness that lasted well into my 20s. God's grace and mercy were always within reach, and for that my heart overflowed with gratitude.

In 2008 I felt God calling me in a particular way: to "walk a little closer" with him. After much discernment, I entered the path to become a Certified Lay Minister in the United Methodist Church. I was approved in 2012 and assigned to serve at my home church, Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Durham.

The following year, I entered a two-year training program to become a spiritual director, which I completed in 2015.

I have received advanced training in how to administer the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. I have found the exercises to be invaluable for discernment, deepening experiences of contemplative prayer and practicing disciplines of humility, simplicity and obedience.

I particularly enjoy giving workshops on prayer and various retreat themes. The connection between physical and spiritual health is important to me. I also enjoy experimenting with poetry, art and imaginative meditation as pathways of understanding beauty and wholeness.

In addition to the profound work of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ, any relationship between a director and directee involves two real people with different personalities, strengths, flaws and passions. It takes time for that relationship to deepen and grow. Honesty and transparency are important cornerstones.

"You brought me out into a spacious place; you rescued me because you delighted in me."

(Isaiah 55:3, NIV 1984)

My practice as a spiritual director is to meet once with someone to chat, share stores and hopes before committing to doing direction together. After this, the normal pattern would be to meet for approximately one hour once a month. I prefer to meet in my home in north Durham. Creating an atmosphere that allows for silence and quiet conversation in a safe place is important. I do expect that appointments made are honored. I would hope each directee would come prepared for our time together. I cannot accept a large number of directees at any one time because of time constraints but I am happy to be contacted by anyone who is seriously interested in a relationship of spiritual direction to see if I might be a good fit and whether I have availability at that time to accept a new directee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean —

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down —

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver