Spiritual director Jane Hoober Peifer laments the difficulties of staying present while at her listening post.
In her retirement from pastoral ministry, Jane Hoober Peifer has transitioned into providing spiritual direction and leading retreats. She considers the privilege of listening to the souls of fellow pilgrims sacred work and she so often wished she would have had more time to do it when she was a pastor. Living in Harrisonburg, Virginia, with her husband, Daryl, Jane enjoys nurturing houseplants and outdoor plants, playing upright bass with a group of local “old time” musicians, and participating with Shalom Mennonite Congregation — a beloved community of fellow Jesus followers.
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I hate when that happens.
I hate when I forget to stay curious,
when some word spoken to me from the heart
trips me,
catches me,
triggers me or invites me
into some certainty about something
I think I know about,
and I leave my listening post
and begin wandering down my own path.
I hate when that happens.
O God,
Be near me and keep me curious;
Fill me with questions and wonderings;
Keep me from thinking I know about another,
when the soul of another is
as mysterious as the rumblings in my own soul.
Help me to stay by my listening post, O God.
Learn more about the Mennonite Spiritual Directors Network at mennosdn.org.
You can find links to the Spiritual Directors Network website and other congregational and ministerial resources on MC USA’s Church Vitality webpage: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/
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