Welcoming Jesus into the Sanctuary of my Heart - By Chua Chiew Poh
Prayer Room at Seven Foundations Spirituality Centre in Thailand
BY CHUA CHIEW POH
As a hospice chaplain providing spiritual care to patients and caregivers, I have borne witness to the pain of many souls. Some struggle with questions such as: ‘Is God still present?’ ‘What’s the meaning of life?’ ‘Why does God allow suffering?’
As they wrestle with these complexities, I seek to offer a safe, hospitable space – not only in the physical environment, but in the inner room of my heart. To better equip me for this role, I enrolled in the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme with Spiritual Growth Ministries.
In the process of formation, I have realised that the most precious thing we offer another is our own ‘being’.
This includes not only our compassion, our faith, our love, but also all our psychological, emotional and spiritual baggage over the course of our lifetime.
What quality of being am I offering a brother or sister who is going through this kind of agony, with dignity, personhood and existence called into question?
How can I be a channel of God’s grace, a healing presence that flows from an inner disposition of unconditional love, free of human judgment and prejudice?
What needs to take place within my inner heart for this to happen?
Spiritual direction is not a two-person conversation, but always in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is the true director.
How then can I offer a clean, uncluttered holy space within the sanctuary of my own heart to welcome the true Spiritual Director into the midst?
One way I seek to do this is by dedicating time and space in solitude to discern God’s movement in my own life. Last year I participated in a contemplative retreat at Seven Fountains Chiangmai facilitated by Listening Inn (www.listeninginn.life).
At the beginning of the retreat an image came to me. As I sketched it, journalled and prayed with it, insights flowed like waves into the depths of my soul.
The illustrated image represents the inner life of the spiritual director, holding a free, open and welcoming space for the directee.
Baby Jesus lays in a pram, at the heart of a humble living room. There is a slight smile on his face as he sleeps peacefully.
In this simple abode, there are only a few pieces of furniture. A humble, simple and uncluttered heart is the place where Jesus can most comfortably dwell within us.
The rocking chair symbolizes calm and countless moments of patient waiting.
The wooden stools offer hospitality to guests who visit the home, recounting their faith stories.
The artefacts on the shelf represent memories of old.
On the wall, there is a cross which symbolises the dying to self in the process of waiting for the birth of Christ in this home.
The grandfather's clock marks the passage of time.
The water flask and the pot stand on the dining table, ready to refresh the thirsty and feed the hungry.
In this humble home, there is always providence.
The owners of the home stand in awe and wonder as they watch baby Jesus being bathed in the golden rays of the morning sun, gently streaming in through the windows.
An overwhelming sense of awe and peace pervades the entire atmosphere.
Jesus, you are welcome into the sanctuary of my inner living room.
Chua Chiew Poh is an ordained diaconal minister in the Methodist Church of Singapore. She serves as a chaplain providing spiritual care to elderly and palliative beneficiaries and is currently in Year 2 of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme with Spiritual Growth Ministries..
