Slideshow image

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

This past September I attended a Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Renewal) Executive Board meeting at Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center in Carefree, Arizona. While brief, the retreat center was a wonderful place to draw away from the busyness of life. On the last morning of the board retreat, after discussing how to strengthen the “renewal” part of our name, I took time to walk the retreat center’s labyrinth.

I have walked several labyrinths in North and South America, and you can find them around the world. They have different designs, but they all function the same. They are not mazes that offer multiple paths from which we choose. There is only one path that enters a labyrinth and it leads to its center. At the center, a person rests in prayer and then retraces their path out of the labyrinth back into the world. The path is filled with twists and turns, times when a person gets close to the center only to be taken back to the extreme edges, but always there is only one path.

When I began to walk Spirit in the Desert’s labyrinth, my eyes wanted to look ahead to see the direction of the path, but I fought that impulse. Instead, I focused on the path in front of me and gathered my thoughts. I wish I would have had this prayer used by pilgrims entering a labyrinth: “Lord, as I enter this labyrinth, take from me my distractions and burdens. Guide my feet along this winding path. As I journey toward the center, draw me closer to Your heart. As I rest at the center, fill me with Your peace. And as I walk back out into the world, grant me the strength to live Your love. Amen.” 

We all must find ways to listen for God’s voice that guides us on the path of life.