Have you ever been in a moment where you realize things are unfolding?  Ideas slowly emerge.  Clarity comes in brief increments.  It is a moment of unfolding.  The direction is not clear.  The connections between the snip-its of ideas are not clear.

Those moments tend to provide two emotions for me:  overwhelming energy at the creativity and frustration at the unknown.  From experience, I know clarity will always come.  It may take a week, a month, or in my case a couple of years.  God gifts us with ideas that emerge at different times– a mere passing thought that occurs again at another point.  Suddenly, the idea occurs more frequently. 

Then one day, we realize that God has graced us with the gift of clarity. It is then that we are faced with a decision– to take steps in the direction of this Holy Spirit driven idea or to shove it away momentarily knowing it will again re-emerge in the future. 

How do we wait in those moments of creativity?  There is only one thing that sustains us– hope in prayer.

Have I ever experienced a moment of unfolding? 
Living through that experience and reflecting on that experience, what did I learn about God’s gift of revelation to us? 
Am I rooting my decisions and waiting period in prayer?

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.