Welcome to The Well , the blog for Wellspring Spiritual Direction, where we are creating space to discuss all things Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Formation. You can expect there to be times we get to do a deep dive into a particular spiritual practice or discipline with the possible opportunities of incorporating it into our lives. We will have the chance to look at the lives, thoughts, and influences of particular people (past and present) and the impact their lives have made to the spiritual formation space. We will explore questions that we all carry about our live, experience of, and formation into the image of Jesus. All this and more will have room for discussion as we pursue the desire of growing in the practice of discerning Jesus’ presence and faithfully responding as He leads, by His grace. Thank you for joining us!

In this inaugural posting, I thought it would be engaging to clue you in on the meaning behind the name chosen for this ministry, Wellspring Spiritual Direction, and how the imagery of our logo ties into that purpose. As we begin, I want to give credit to Scott Brinkmeyer at Dogwood Co. for the work he did designing the logo and branding for Wellspring Spiritual Direction. Scott has been such a joy to work with. His gifts go beyond the creation of incredible images. Scott did a phenomenal job listening and getting to the heart behind Wellspring. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of designing with Scott which resulted with the beautiful graphics that effectively communicate my passion and purpose here at Wellspring. Check out Scott’s work at https://www.dogwoodco.design. I am in no way receiving compensation for this promotion. I am simply wanting to spread the word about a craftsman and his work who has been a godsend for me.

So, why “Wellspring”? A wellspring is a source. We are mostly, if not entirely, familiar with the importance of wells. A well is the point in which liquids are brought up from under the ground so that they can be put to use in our day to day lives. While there several types of wells (oil for instance) the most familiar and widely used form of wells are those through which we access water. A water well is the place where we are able to access the water from under the earth so that it can either piped into a building for a multitude of uses or, for generations, collected in jars and buckets and carried home for its intended use.

Well’s, in their own right, play a pivotal role in the ongoing unfolding of God’s redeeming work throughout Scripture. Large portions of the story line of Scripture takes place the Middle East, a fairly arid part of the world. I had an opportunity several years ago to spend five weeks traveling around the country of Israel while also participating in an archaeology dig. In everything that was done and in every excursion that was taken, the availability of water was a factor in planning. Especially as we toured the southern portions of the country, the dry heat could dehydrate a person without them being entirely aware of it. We drank continually, always a mission to stay hydrated.

In Biblical times, before the modern convenience of water being piped directly into our homes, the well was a place of gathering as people came to collect the water their family needed to sustain life for the day. Out of this sprung several significant encounters in the story of salvation.

It was at a well that Abraham’s servant first met Rebekah, who was to become Issac’s wife. (Genesis 24:1-67)
Jacob first encountered his wife Rachel at a well as she was watering her faither’s sheep. (Genesis 29:1-20)
Moses met his wife Zipporah at a well. (Exodus 4:18-26)
The most well-known encounter at a well is probably Jesus and the Samaritan women. (John 4:1-16)

In fact, these “well” formed relationships occur so frequently in the lives of people central to the story of scripture that the scholars of the Bible Project identify it as a specific literary pattern. Carissa Quinn writes in Bible Project article on the topic saying, “Where does one go to find a life partner? In our modern world, social events, dating apps, coffee shops, and bars top the list. But the authors of the Hebrew Bible have a particular setting that indicates someone in the story is about to get hitched. When the authors want to portray a man meeting his future bride, the setting is often a well.”[i]

Notice that in each of these instances, a well was not only a place where relationships began but that these relationships that would only carry the God’s saving work forward. As a part of that saving work these relationships that formed from an encounter at a well would work transformation in each of the people involved. Wells were places of encounter and transformation.

In some ways, the logo for Wellspring can be seen in depicted the imagery of a well. Viewed a certain way the blue curved borders on the top and bottom of the image look like the capstones of a well while the tan inside lines depicts the walls of the well which contained the water which is at the center of the design. And in many ways, the biblical symbolism of the well mirrors my own desire and purpose in the creation of Wellspring Spiritual Direction. Spiritual direction is a practice of encounter and relationship.

In her book Seeking God Together Spiritual Director Alice Fryling writes, “…spiritual direction…is a place where individuals can experience what it means to be listened to and loved by others...” [ii] Trust, empathy, compassion, being listened too – all the qualities of a healthy relationship are at the center of what spiritual direction is. As people come to Wellspring, they encounter a place of hospitality where all they are and all they are experiencing is welcome. However, it does not stop there but continues on because spiritual direction is not only about relationship, it is about transformation. Transformation grows as the fruit of relationship that is authentic and vulnerable in community with other people and with God. Alice Fryling finishes her statement on the purpose of spiritual direction by saying, “…so that they can learn to listen more attentively to God in their daily lives and be used by God to spread God’s grace and love throughout the world.” It is growing in one’s attentiveness and responsiveness to God outside of the spiritual direction session that is the desired fruit; authentic relationship with each other and God that leads to us becoming a conduit of God’s grace to the world we live in. Wellspring is a place of relationship that leads to transformation through attentiveness to the grace and leading of God.

Still, as closely as the logo design and intent of Wellspring is connected to the imagery of wells, the ministry is not called “The Well” but “Wellspring”. There is an important reason for this. As vital as the well and water is to sustaining life, the well and water would not be available without its source – it’s Wellspring. At Wellspring our focus in not only providing drinks of soul refreshing water every four to six weeks through the practice of spiritual direction. Our intended desire is that through the practice of spiritual direction, our presence with each other would actually open a greater window to the loving presence of Jesus who is our source, our Wellspring.

In John 7, Jesus stands up on the final day of a national celebration called the Feast of Booth’s and declares, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive…”[iii]As with many of Jesus declarations in the Gospel of John, Jesus words were pointing to Himself and the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes and God’s promises. Included in the Feasts of Booths was a daily ceremony in which water would be drawn from the Pool of Siloam and carried to the altar in the Temple as singers quoted from Isaiah 12:3, “With joy youwill draw water from the wells of salvation.”[iv] Even as the Feast of Booth’s commemorated Israel’s time of wandering in the desert for forty years, this ceremony relived God’s miraculous provision of water in the wilderness.[v] (see Exod 17:1–7; Num 20:1–11; cf. Deut 8:15) Jesus takes this moment of remembering God’s salvation of Israel and points to Himself as it’s perfect fulfillment. In essence Jesus declares, “I am your wellspring! I am the source of the water that will not only quench your deepest thirsts but will become a spring of love and grace flowing out from you.” This is the driving desire at Wellspring – extending the gift of spiritual direction and other contemplative practices in ways that open windows to receiving from the wellspring of Jesus’ love and grace in our lives so that we can then live as conduits of His love and grace in the world around us. Jesus is the center and Wellspring even as the water is the center of the logo at Wellspring Spiritual Direction.

Now, let’s be realistic – life and relationship, even with Jesus, are rarely, if ever, straightforward. They are a journey more than a destination. A road of discovery more than a practice of expertise. They are an experience that ebbs and flows, rising in moments of growth and closeness and waning in routine or even seasons of dryness. For this reason, I so appreciate the symbolism of prayer walking a labyrinth, which is the maze-like imagery encircling the water drop.

The practice of prayerfully walking a labyrinth seems to have started in the twelve century and has continued to present day. It began as a way of metaphorically taking a pilgrimage when actually traveling to a distant location was not possible.[vi] It still carries much the same meaning as it is a method of prayerfully listening to God while journeying through the path to the center and back out again

If looked at from above, a labyrinth might look exactly like a maze or a random design of wandering paths which will lead to the center of one selects the correct path from the many available options. Yet, this is not the case. What differentiates a labyrinth from a maze is that a labyrinth does not have dead ends, there is no wrong path. One prayerfully enters into the labyrinth and will reach the center as long as they keep walking. The path will feel like it is winding and wandering – moving closer to the center or move out away from it. Yet, as long as one keeps walking the path at their own prayerful pace, they will reach the center. There is no rush to move out of the center upon reaching it. There is time and space to sit, reflect, pray, journal, be silent, or even praise. When ready the prayer moves out from the centers and prayerfully walks the winding path back out into the rhythms of life.

This is a beautiful metaphor of the invitation to walk with God. In Luke 24 there is an account of two disciples walking away from Jerusalem following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. These two disciples had witnessed the crucifixion but were not yet aware of the resurrection. Their path away from Jerusalem was spirituality and emotionally wandering and winding, confusing and defeated. Yet, Jesus himself joins them on their journey and reveals Himself when they are ready to see and understand. The disciples learned that day that Jesus is both the companion and the center, the source, their Wellspring. After their encounter with Jesus, they traveled the same very same road again - this time racing back toward Jerusalem and the other disciples rather than away.

This is the very picture and prayer of what I dream and desire for Wellspring Spiritual Direction. I dream of Wellspring being a place where we journey with Jesus together – in season of closeness and in seasons of distance, in seasons of delight and in seasons of questions, in seasons of discovery and in seasons of dryness, in seasons of plenty and in seasons of pain – helping each other to see Jesus along the way, trusting that He is the Wellspring that imparts living water into our lives. It would then be this life-giving encounter with Jesus in community that would shape the way we walk into and through the course of life even as it did the disciples in Emmaus. (Luke 24) Wellspring is a place where we set aside time to be intentionally attentive, listening for Jesus in our work, relationships, and lives. I look forward to taking this journey with Jesus and with you.

[i] https://bibleproject.com/articles/jesus-offers-living-water-and-marriage/

[ii] Alice Fryling, Seeking God Together: An Introduction to Group Spiritual Direction (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008).

[iii] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 7:37–39

[iv] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 12:3.

[v] Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause, John, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1998), Jn 7:37–39.

[vi] Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us. (Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press, 2005), 235-238.

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