Coming Full Circle: Discernment as a Holy Adventure
Jun 11, 2025This past month, I’ve felt myself come full circle.
After sitting with the readings on discernment in spiritual direction, I’m landing in a place of clearer understanding that leaves me more grounded, more open, and surprisingly, more at ease.
Carolyn Metzler’s article, “Navigating the Process of Discernment in Spiritual Direction,” offered the clarity I needed. Her approach was simple and grounded, full of helpful questions to guide someone gently through the discernment process. She emphasizes the importance of self-examination and paying attention to our inner patterns. This kind of reflection makes space for new truths to emerge, helping us understand ourselves more
deeply.
I’ve always believed that our story—our personal history—is central to our healing and discovery. But something my own spiritual director said recently has stretched that belief.
“What if we don’t always know the story?” she asked. That landed hard.
I’m beginning to wonder: is discernment also about letting go of the narrative, allowing the unfolding to simply be what it is? Can we trust the process even without knowing where it’s leading?
I often ask my clients two questions after they’ve processed something difficult:
1. What did you learn from this?
2. What would you do differently next time?
These questions offer closure and invite growth. But now I have a third question to add to the mix—one Metzler lifts up that I’ve come to love: “Where is the Holy in all this?”
This feels like a sacred invitation to connect with the deeper Self, to acknowledge God’s presence even in the mess.
Metzler’s “Basic Assumptions” about discernment are worth returning to again and again: God is already at work in us; we discern best in community; even detours have meaning; discernment comes in seasons; the body has wisdom; our image of God shapes how we discern; and we must offer ourselves grace along the way.
Discernment isn’t about certainty—it’s about faithfulness. And with Teresa Blythe’s image of discernment as a “dance,” I’m more convinced than ever: it’s an adventure, not a formula.
That, too, is part of discernment.
By Melody Diehl, First Year Student in WTC School of Spiritual Direction
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