Spiritual Discernment Essay

Past and Present Influences There have been so many factors that influenced the development of my spiritual discernment. My spiritual discernment began developing during my early adulthood. Although I went to Catholic school, I did not learn anything to contribute to a relationship with God. In fact, all I did learn was a plethora of rules I had to follow, or else I would go to hell. However, I was not moved by anything I learned, but I was aware there was a Higher Power. My family and my circumstances have been my main influences in developing my approach to spiritual discernment. I believe God came into my life a few years before my grandmother died. I believed my mother’s new found faith was a joke, but I could tell she was in desperate need of strength. Soon after I began attending a very small non-denominational church where my

My pastors taught me about not conforming and protecting the gifts god gave me by remaining in a place that will feed my faith. Both of them reminded me of Romans 12:2 when it says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV). Powell, Tisdale, Willingham, Bustrum, and Allan’s (2012) study findings support preserving faith in a faith based school by stating, “being surrounded by individuals with a common set of beliefs impacted the way that they viewed their faith” (Powell, Tisdale, Willingham, Bustrum, Allan, 2012, p. 186). Also, I felt the manner in which I got accepted, my time there, and the ability to finish was a sign from God that I was suppose to be there from the beginning. My mother was behind in bills and could not pay for my tuition, there was a possibility I was not going to graduate due to a missing paper, and I was under so much