Beginnings #1

Back in 2000, I was struggling to cope with my daughter, Shane’s, death. Although I am a psychologist, I did not find my field to have many helpful answers. Back then, I thought I could make sense of my devastating loss. A former clinical supervisor had recommended I check out Iliff School of Theology on the Denver University campus, so I decided to give it a try.  I signed up for one Friday afternoon 3-hour class called Pastoral Counseling.  I had little energy and figured it would be an easy study for me.  

Faithfully, I went to each Friday afternoon class during the spring quarter. On the day of the last class, I had no particular sense of whether to stay and study or to leave.  So, that last Friday morning before class, I prayed for a sign, for some kind of guidance. As I sat through the last lecture, nothing came to me.  No inspiration or obvious sign of whether to stay or go. 

Disappointed, I left class for the library to find a journal called Theology.  For some odd reason, I started down an aisle, looking through the Rs.  As I came to the end of the long and tall book stacks, I seemed to awaken and wonder why I was scanning the Rs when I needed to be in the Ts.  I turned to face the opposite row, the Ss.  Right there in front of me was a journal called The Shane Quarterly.  I began to fall back laughing and said to Spirit, “okay, I will study here.”

I continued my studies and received certificates in Theological Studies and Biblical Studies.  During that time I began to wonder if these graduate students had had any personal spiritual experiences (PSEs).  I figured it would be helpful information to know, so I began to interview volunteer students and developed a class Narratives of Spiritual and Religious Experiences with Dr. Albert Hernandez.  The class proved to be very popular.  The results of my study are published in the Journal of Spirituality and Mental health.  Turns out, all participants felt a PSE had guided them to study at Iliff.  They were directed toward their calling. I taught the class for 10 years until just before covid arrived.