Four Ignatian Tools to Rely On Whenever I Am Lost

Editor’s note: Throughout July, we’re hosting 31 Days with St. Ignatius, a month-long celebration of Ignatian spirituality. In addition to the calendar of Ignatian articles found here, posts on dotMagis this month will explore the theme of “Hope Through the Twists and Turns.”

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I have absolutely no sense of direction. I can’t count how many times I have gotten lost in both familiar and unfamiliar places. Once, back before smartphones and driving-direction apps, I drove around the streets of Baton Rouge, LA, for five hours trying to find the mall.

In my defense, I was new to the area. I had started my assignment a few months earlier as a service teacher in a local Catholic school. While preparing our home and classrooms for the school year ahead, my housemates and I made quite a few trips to the local mall. From the passenger seat, the route seemed simple enough. It was just a couple twists and turns to get onto the highway, and then it was a straight shot there. After our third trip, I believed wholeheartedly that I could get there all by myself.

So, one Saturday morning I asked one of my housemates if I could borrow his car for a quick trip to the mall. He agreed, as long as I promised to return in a couple of hours. “Sure, no problem!” I said and started on my way. After three hours of twisting and turning down some unfamiliar roads, I stopped in a nearby parking lot to call my housemate. I took a deep breath as I dialed our home line, trying to calm the anxiety building in me. “So, this is clearly taking longer than I expected. And I have no idea where I am right now. Forget the mall, can you help me find my way home?”

Have you ever missed a turn or two on the way to your desired destination? Have you ever felt the anxiety of being completely, hopelessly lost?

I imagine none of us is a stranger to the feelings that come with being lost, whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally. It can be unsettling. It can be fear-inducing. It can make one lose hope of ever finding the way. Twenty years ago, driving the unfamiliar roads of Baton Rouge, I lacked many of the tools I have today that never fail to help me find hope and get me back on my way to my destination.

These days, I not only have a direction app on my phone, but I also have a few go-to Ignatian tools in my pocket to help, like:

• Finding God in Everything. Whenever I am lost, I feel alone and distant from everyone, especially God. But if I stop for a moment to take in the sights and sounds around me, I never fail to find signs of God’s presence.
• Imaginative Prayer. Whenever I am lost, I desperately desire calm and reassuring companionship. Using my imagination to place Christ in the passenger seat helps give me the assurance I need to know I am not navigating the unexpected twists and turns of this journey alone.
• The Graces of the Spiritual Exercises. Whenever I am lost, I instinctively berate myself for losing my way yet again. But then the graces I received from the Exercises, particularly in the First Week, remind me that Christ is always loving me as I am, where I am at any given moment. This helps me feel loved and supported on the way and helps me be gentler with myself.
• Companions on the Way. Whenever I am lost, it is easy to feel hopeless. But when I reach out and make the phone call to a good friend, a trusted mentor, or my spiritual director, that person’s companionship grounds me once again in hope.

These are just four of the Ignatian tools that I rely on to renew my hope and get me back on track to my destination. What are some of yours?

Have you checked your Unread Messages? Gerri Leder invites you to do that in today’s featured article for 31 Days with St. Ignatius. Then use the hashtag #31DayswithIgnatius on your favorite social media channels to share the Ignatian tools you’ve found helpful.