In 2016 I started reading the bible.  I was in my mid-40s and not a religious person, born or otherwise.  I am however, a life-long fan of God and have always been spiritually oriented.  As a young girl I heard, felt, and knew a presence that I called God. As early as 3 years old I experienced something guiding me, and ever since I have practiced a daily routine of deep silence and communication with this voice. 

Hearing this voice drove me to seek it’s source, it’s meaning, and it’s validity. Prior to reading the bible for the first time I had read, studied, and practiced Buddhism, Taoism, multiple indigenous spiritual & cultural teachings including several Native American, Australian Aboriginal and New Zealand Maori.  As a seeker I am willing to examine, study, and apply almost anything I can get my hands on that claims to advance me spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and mentally.  As a kid I was called “fingers” because I had to touch and ‘get my hands on’ everything.  Curiosity has always been my approach to most things.

Quite intentionally I became a smorgasbord of new age practices including energy work, intuition, Tarot, astrology, channeling, Shamanism, Reiki and more.  The hours that I spent attending to and being present with the supernatural realm made me skilled at perceiving it.  People began seeking my help, on multiple topics, and in multiple ways. Soon I had a busy practice as a life coach and medical intuitive.  My daily practice of deep silence and attention to that which cannot be seen was proving to be meaningful to many.  

My inquiry into Christ, more than 20 years later, started as a science experiment. Curiosity got the best of me. Given everything that I am, what I do professionally, who I am personally–including my life-long orientation toward the supernatural–it just seemed prudent that I study the bible and learn about Christ.  I’ll be honest: I felt confident in my intellectual ability and academic pursuits to debunk the bible as spiritual hogwash.  I felt confident that my smorgasbord of new age practices was more applicable and more powerful than religious foolery. 

Today I follow Christ.  Emphatically and exclusively.  Why, what changed?  I certainly don’t follow Christ because a church, or any particular Christian person(s) evangelized me or explained to me that this is what I should do.  If “churchy Christianity’ were my guide, I would still be confused, spiritually starving, unsatisfied, and failing in my attempts to:

  • better understand myself and my reality
  • know and understand God’s imprint on my life
  • know and understand and act on my purpose
  • live a consistently peaceful existence with the power to pursue my purpose daily
  • continue to grow in my connection to God

[Times Five Series is a restricted writing exercise with 5 paragraphs, each with 5 sentences.  The number 5 in the bible represents grace, the grace of God given freely to all thru Christ.  Jesus speaks of ‘grace upon grace’ which I am interpreting as times 5.]