By Joann Neuroth
My body has had a wild ride this fall and winter: I fell and fractured my femur in Nov … in Dec the incision became infected, putting off physical rehab and lengthening the time I needed to spend without weight on the leg. In my rehab facility I contracted RSV. In many senses it was a nightmare – each time we thought we had adjusted to a way through, another bad thing seemed to fall from the sky. It wasn’t until February that I got clearance to put weight on the femur and begin re-learning to walk. However much my community rallied around with offers to help, it left me and my spouse Carolyn feeling helpless and afraid and out of control. In fact, it was not just my body on this wild ride but our spirits as well.
I fretted about the God’s Promise Fulfilled (GPF) program that Adria Gulizia DiCapua and I have been developing for over a year. Could I be ready for its first residency on Memorial Day 2025? At first that seemed ridiculously far off, but as the months wore on, it became harder to believe it would work. The elders who are supporting my call to teach GPF called me back to right relationship with the Creator: Joann, this isn’t an idea of yours that you need to “make happen” by trying harder. This is a leading. If God intends the class to proceed, it will proceed, even if it does so in a way different from what you can imagine. Your job is to acknowledge the reality of “what is” and trust God to start work from there – opening yourself to your Inner Teacher and asking for your next step. Then finding the resources, the courage, the resolve to take that step.
In fact, they observed, that lesson (trust God’s being in control, and seek guidance about your part in God’s plan) is remarkably similar to the learning arc you and Adria have planned for the GPF class as the cohort that’s forming will wade into how to “encounter and embody Grace in the shadow of Empire.” They too will be struggling with a tidal wave of bad news from an unraveling world and wondering how to give themselves over to God (claiming the Divine Promise of freedom, power and faithfulness), trusting that whoever they really are is enough for God to use in turning the world. This is just your particular object lesson in what that looks like. There will be a way toward God’s intention. You do have a contribution. It’s just that it is surprising you; it doesn’t look like what you’ve expected.
I don’t yet know the end to this story. Will I be able to join the cohort on that first precious weekend in May? I’m walking now with a walker, so maybe. Or will I be part of the on-line half of the cohort? I certainly hadn’t imagined I wouldn’t teach in the same room as Adria, but if that’s where faithfulness takes me/us, I find that I’m willing. And my capacity for taking Guidance and letting it transform my life is growing – there is a calm and curiosity that also surprises me.
I’m looking forward to being able to build a communal-size version of that with the God’s Promise Fulfilled cohort. If you have any inclination to join a group of 24 of us who are going to build our spiritual muscle for living deeply inside God’s Promise while moving through a world that actively resists that Promise, please consider joining us. There are still both on-line and on-site slots remaining and we’re praying for all those God is calling to find and join us in the work of giving ourselves to God. Go to the website at schoolofthespirit.org/gpf and register for one of the remaining Information Sessions to find out more.
