The task of personal and corporate discernment is like the work of an archaeologist.Discernment is like the archaeologist who journeys and searches for something not always apparent. The archaeologist removes the rubble to discover the treasure that is already there.
Don’t push this image too hard because if you do you’ll arrive at the conclusion that our vocation and our directions are fixed and ready made.
Discernment best involves a divine-human partnership in which we are invited into a conversation with our Creator, where vocation and direction are discovered together.
Archaeologists don’t come in with bulldozers and hob nail boots and similarly, discernment needs to be approached with great sensitivity and care.
Discernment, like an archaeological dig, requires great time and patience.
In contrast to so many contemporary methods for finding out the future and decision making, discernment is rarely a penny in the slot event. It’s more often a process in which things are revealed through time. It’s like cooking with a crock pot, not a microwave, in which things need to simmer for a good while.
Discernment is a dynamic, ongoing discovery rather than presenting oneself to get a static print out.
Dr Geoff Pound
Making Life Decisions: Journey in Discernment
Image: “Discernment is like an archaeological dig.”
