Cultivate the Connection

Have you set a spiritual goal for 2025?

“Wherever you stand on the God issue, let me just say that this whole improving your life thing is going to be a lot easier if you have an open mind about it.” - Jen Sincero, You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

I have a confession to make: even as a professional clergywoman, I struggle to make my personal spiritual life my top priority. I often assume that because I spend my days immersed in spiritual work – leading my spiritual community, counseling and coaching others, studying and preaching sacred texts – that my own connection with God naturally will remain strong and vibrant. But the truth is, it's surprisingly easy to mistake professional religious duties for personal spiritual communion.

Sometimes I find myself so caught up in preparing sermons or managing Chapel programs that I neglect my own quiet time and devotion. It's a bit like being a fitness instructor who's too busy teaching classes to do their own workouts – the proximity to spiritual practice doesn't automatically translate to personal spiritual depth.

This realization has been both humbling and liberating. It's reminded me that no matter our role or experience level, we all need to intentionally cultivate our connection with the Divine. It's this understanding that compels me to share these thoughts with you. As we step into 2025, many of us are crafting ambitious resolutions across different areas of our lives – career advancement, fitness transformations, financial goals, and relationship improvements. While these aspirations are valuable, there's one fundamental goal that should top your list this year: cultivating your connection with God and intentionally pouring into your spirit. This spiritual foundation isn't just another checkbox on your resolution list; it's the wellspring from which all other achievements can flow more naturally and meaningfully. Having a vibrant spiritual life is the key to sustaining your inner strength to reach all of your other goals, successfully navigating (whatever that means to you) life’s unexpected vicissitudes, and eliminating hustle from your personal ecosystem.

The Ultimate Source of Sustainability

We've all experienced it – that initial surge of motivation as we pursue a new goal, followed by the inevitable ebb of energy and enthusiasm. Your workout routine might falter during a busy week, your savings plan might hit unexpected obstacles, or your career aspirations might face unforeseen challenges. I’ve been there. I remember these moments wholeheartedly, and I remember learning that these are precisely the moments where a spiritual connection becomes invaluable.

Unlike our finite personal resources – energy, motivation, or material means – God, as the Source of all good things, offers an inexhaustible supply of what we need to persist and thrive. When your own reserves run dry, this divine connection becomes the well you can draw from repeatedly, finding renewed strength, inspiration, and resources to continue your journey.

Navigating Life's Emotional Storms

Life has a way of testing our resolve through various emotional challenges. Anxiety might creep in when facing uncertainty, fear might paralyze us when taking risks, and depression might cloud our vision of what's possible. We may experience abandonment or rejection from individuals or communities that mean a lot to us. We may accidentally walk into a meeting and inadvertently discover that we’ve been demoted. These aren't just obstacles to overcome; they're opportunities to deepen our spiritual practice. A spiritual practice will lead you to the strength to endure, but also to the strategy to navigate and emerge transformed.

A strong spiritual foundation provides tools for emotional resilience that go beyond mere positive thinking or willpower. Through prayer, meditation, or whatever form your spiritual practice takes, you develop a grace that helps you move through difficult emotions rather than being overwhelmed by them. This spiritual connection offers a perspective that transforms challenges from insurmountable walls into stepping stones for growth.

From Hustle to Harmony

Perhaps one of the most transformative aspects of prioritizing your spiritual connection is how it reshapes your approach to achievement and fulfillment. The contemporary narrative often glorifies the "hustle culture" – pushing harder, grinding longer, and sometimes even manipulating circumstances to reach our goals. But what if there's a more sustainable and fulfilling way?

When you're spiritually aligned, you begin to recognize divine timing and ordered steps in your journey. This doesn't mean becoming passive; rather, it means learning to combine inspired action with trust in divine guidance. You might find yourself "coincidentally" meeting the right person, discovering the perfect opportunity, or receiving an unexpected insight that accelerates your progress. These aren't mere coincidences, but the result of being in alignment with a higher purpose and your ultimate Source.

Practical Steps for Spiritual Goal-Setting

1. Start with Clarity: Define what spiritual connection means to you personally. Whether it's through traditional religious practices, meditation, nature walks, or contemplative writing, identify practices that genuinely resonate with your soul.

2. Create Sacred Time: Just as you would schedule important meetings or workout sessions, set aside dedicated time for spiritual practice. Even 15 minutes of intentional connection daily can create profound shifts in your perspective and energy.

3. Practice Mindful Integration: Look for ways to weave spiritual awareness into your other goals. I practied this, this year. While changing my son’s diapers and getting him dressed for daycare, I put on some Fred Hammond, spoke affirming words and scripture over him, and prayed over our day. Our everyday moments, in the moment, can be powerful backdrops for grounding and centering our spirits, with the right mindset and inner orientation. Think about this as you pursue those goals:

• How can your career advancement serve a higher purpose?

• How can your health goals honor your body as a divine creation?

• How can your relationships reflect divine love?

4. Trust the Process: Remember that spiritual growth, like any other form of development, isn't always linear. In fact, it hardly ever is! Some days you'll feel deeply connected, others might feel more distant. The key is maintaining consistency in your practice while being gentle with yourself. In my imagination, Susan L. Taylor, the former Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine, is my mentor. In her essay, “Living from Within,” she writes:

“Living in the spirit isn’t complicated. But it does require continual commitment and and devotion. Everything necessary for wholeness is within you.”¹

The Ripple Effect

As you make spiritual connection your primary goal, you'll likely notice something remarkable: other areas of your life begin to flow more harmoniously. This doesn't mean every day will be perfect or that challenges won't arise. Rather, you'll find yourself equipped with deeper wisdom, greater resilience, and a clearer sense of purpose to navigate whatever comes your way.

Your spiritual goal becomes the north star guiding all other aspirations, helping you discern which opportunities align with your highest good and which might lead you astray. Instead of exhausting yourself trying to make things happen through sheer force of will, you learn to co-create with divine guidance, finding more joy and ease in the process.

Remember, setting a spiritual goal isn't about adding another task to your already full plate. It's about creating a foundation that makes everything else more meaningful and sustainable. As you enter this new year, consider making your spiritual connection not just a priority, but the priority from which all other achievements can naturally unfold.

On A Personal Note

As I prepare to turn 40 in 9 days, I find myself reflecting deeply on my journey. So many highs, so many lessons. These decades of learning and growing have taught me much, but perhaps the most profound lesson has been recognizing how essential deep spiritual communion is to my overall wellness. This milestone birthday brings with it not just wisdom from past experiences, but a renewed and deeper desire for authentic connection – both with God and with my community.

I'm walking into this new decade with excitement and self-love, knowing that the depth of spiritual connection I seek isn't just about personal fulfillment. It's about being better equipped to serve, to love, and to live with purpose. I look forward to sharing this journey with you, my readers, as we all seek to deepen our spiritual roots and watch how that nurtures every other aspect of our lives.

In doing so, you might discover that what you've been striving so hard to achieve comes with greater ease, and what you receive surpasses what you could have imagined through your own planning and striving alone.

1. Taylor, Susan L. In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor. (New York: HarperCollins, 1993), 4.