Posted by In her years as a retreat leader and spiritual director, Becky Eldredge has worked with many people seeking grace and an awareness of God in their lives. Her own religious journey taught her that “God…is already present. So often, we just need some help tuning in.”
Becky now wants to pass on that talent for discernment to others in her book of short, practical meditations, “Encounter Grace: Moments of Hope, Joy, and Peace.” We discussed it recently on “Christopher Closeup” (podcast below).
Becky’s previous book was titled “The Inner Chapel,” and that concept is a thread throughout “Encounter Grace.” She explained, “We have this inner room within us where God resides. The full Trinity is available to us right here. What I love about the inner chapel is we’re never alone because of its existence. God is right here…We can call on God at any moment in our day. That’s such a source of comfort and hope for me and, I think, so many people that know of its existence.”
During her college days, Becky’s faith life could be a bit of a roller coaster. She would go on retreats and return home riding a spiritual high. But soon after, her spirit “took a dip” and returned to normal. She looks back on those experiences as normal parts of developing a relationship with Christ.
Becky noted, “Retreats…can be a place of a high mountaintop experience. What I understand now, looking back…is I was really seeking the spiritual high more so than God. I was seeking the consolations – that warm, fuzzy feeling which, of course, is an experience of God – more than understanding the true gift of a relationship. A wise spiritual director that I met in my college years helped me find a way to come to my inner chapel every day, to come to daily prayer with the focus of growing a relationship with Christ, not just pursuing the gifts from God. [That] helped me begin to learn how to show up to be with God no matter what, whether I was feeling that consolation or…desolation in my life. [It helped] me understand how to grow the virtue of faithfulness, to keep faithfully showing up in prayer because that’s what happens in a relationship. We show up every day.”
Becky’s relationship with God is grounded in Ignatian spirituality, as is her work. She finds it particularly suited for modern times, despite the fact that St. Ignatius came up with his ideas 500 years ago. He offered clear guidance on what the movement of the Holy Spirit looks and sounds like so we can “pay attention to the things that move us closer to God.” St. Ignatius also articulated “the false spirit’s playbook…how he tries to tempt us and discourage us.” Ignatian spirituality teaches us to “reject that movement of the false spirit and turn to God.”
“In our modern day, people are looking for guidance,” Becky said. “Discouragement is real, hopelessness. So many people I sit with right now, they’re teetering almost towards despair. I think Ignatius’ wisdom can help us learn that we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit to live differently. We have the power to reject the movements that are not coming from God, the voices, our own actions. We can turn from the things that divide or grow discouragement [and] hopelessness, and instead turns towards the things in our lives – the people, the routines, the disciplines – that foster hope, healing, compassion, generosity. Ignatius gives people something to hold onto. It’s rooted in Scripture, it’s rooted in our Catholic tradition, and it gives us a pathway to God, which leads to healing and hope and freedom.”
As appealing as a pathway to God sounds, some people may feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and say they’ll devote more time to God “when life slows down.” Becky hears this kind of thing often: “when I retire, when the kids are out of the house, when I’m done caregiving for this person in my family.”
While these statements are all legitimate and Becky sympathizes, she nevertheless encourages, “Make time for prayer now…Don’t wait. God is here and wants to be with us right now and will meet us right where we are. I always encourage people to be free of expectations of what prayer should look like because I had a wise, wise priest-friend decades ago tell me, ‘Becky, pray as you can, not as you can’t.’ Those words have helped me…move through life and incorporate prayer in the way that made sense for each season.”
“Prayer looked different when my kids were younger,” Becky continued. “My kids are older now. One’s in college. I have a high schooler and a middle schooler. So, my prayer is more anchored in the morning. I can get up before them. But there were long seasons that I was trying to catch prayer during a nap time. When [my husband] Chris and I took care of my grandparents, prayer looked like sitting next to a hospital bed holding their hand, praying in a waiting room. It wasn’t consistent. I’m grateful that I’ve had different spiritual directors throughout my life, and they’ve always encouraged me [to] find the way God’s calling you to be together now. Don’t worry. Don’t judge it in the past. Don’t judge it by somebody else you see praying. Just be with God in the way He’s offering. That gives us so much freedom.”
(To listen to the full interview with Becky Eldredge, click on the podcast link):
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