Rivers of Life: Four Questions

How were you inspired today?

How were you surprised today?

How were you challenged today?

How were you deeply moved to care today?

Spiritual Director Vie Thorgren calls these four streams–inspiration, surprise, challenge, and care–”Rivers of Life.” They are worth paying attention to every day. She traces this kind of spiritual reflection to the Basque region of France, in the tradition of St. Vincent DePaul who had such a powerful ministry among the poor in the 17th Century.

Our Loving Arms Team has found these questions generate rich conversation as we travel and spend time with orphans in Romania. I’ve also used these in other settings, as well as for personal reflection at the end of the day (or week, or year). They are a way of paying attention to God’s voice and presence in our lives, sometimes incognito. They can be a way of both listening and speaking in prayer.

To expand just a bit…

Inspiration: What was inspiring? What was inspired in me? What movement in me might be prompted?

Surprise: What was surprising? How were expectations unmet or even shattered? Was the surprise welcome or unsettling? What reorientation might be invited by this disorientation?

Challenge: What was challenging? How was I stretched (emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually)? Am I eager for the challenge, threatened, discouraged, or energized? Other feelings or thoughts?

Care: What moved me deeply? Why? What did it call forth in me? What will I do with my care?

Photo: Chicago Creek, taken on a hike last fall with Jeff, Ryan, and Scott (friends/co-workers)