“Spiritual disciplines” are things we do to stay in love with God and grow in faith. They can be things we do alone or together; they can be ways to spend time with God or to serve others. As the people of Sylva First UMC share one of their spiritual disciplines with you each week, we hope it will inspire you to new ways of loving God and growing in faith.
Hi! My name is Donna Creel. I’m a Georgia Peach, from Savannah. My husband, Bish, and I moved to Sweet Sylva, August of 2018. After retirement, we wanted a “cabin in the woods,” and we got it! We live on Fiddle and a Bow Lane which we get to from Sleepy Time Drive! How could we have not bought the cabin?
Being a part of a Christian home was my introduction to being Christian. Reading my Bible, praying, being a Godly example to my friends, sharing my faith with others, discovering God’s will for my life, doing ministry….all these things were a part of who I was/am. I’m a rule follower and a doer, so give me the RULE and I can get it done!
But, prayer has always been my struggle. As a child, I saw two frames in a denominational magazine. The first frame was of a little girl sitting at a picnic table with her head down on her hands. The outside was decorated for her apparent birthday party, but a dark cloud with lightning was shown in the sky. The second frame was a farmer, standing by very dry corn stalks. The same sky was evident. He also had head down. In my ten year old mind, I wondered, who is God suppose to answer?
As I learn to be still and to listen to God I envision my life on an altar, making myself available to God’s will. My spoken prayers are often concerned with my narrow, world view, but when I search God’s world view and God’s kingdom, God tugs at my heart sometimes several times a day to acknowledge God and to engage with others on God’s behalf. Spiritual awareness helps me be available in God’s kingdom.
Prayer continues to be a struggle…..and I’ve become ok with that!
