The sky was bright blue. The ocean waves were rolling up to the shore with their crashing sounds and then receding. The woman had decided that she wanted her second life blessing to be given at the ocean, where she felt close to God.

She had been a member of the Community of Christ since childhood, but she was at a crossroad where she felt that she needed further guidance from God for the decisions she was making. In her life she found a deeper meaning as to what a blessing was. She became more willing to let herself be open to God’s will in her life.

We sat in the warm sun and were filled with God’s love and power. All during the blessing prayer we could hear the water rushing and crashing in the background. We had both been preparing for this moment for about six weeks. I have always found that I have been blessed in the sacrament of the evangelist’s blessing as well as the one who has asked for the blessing. When I feel the quickening of God’s Spirit coupled with the desires of people to be more consciously open to God on their life journey, I feel humbled to have a part in it.

As an evangelist, I truly feel I can tell the person who asks for the blessing that I am also a spiritual seeker. I have not arrived; I am still very much on the way. I am simply a more experienced sister, walking with them on a journey of discovery and growth. I would like to be their spiritual companion.

I always tell people that the blessing is important, but it is also important that they know I am available to walk with them at any time of their lives. This is one of the reasons we take at least six visits to prepare and get to know each other better.

Our preparation is a time when I like to say I am helping to till the garden so that the person and God can plant beautiful things together. The people seeking a blessing have some specific activities I ask them to do, such as praying, studying, and journaling. I also ask them to write a page remembering where God was when they were a child, a youth, a young adult, and as an adult. We also have a meditation time together, when we do some spiritual exercises.

When one young woman first came to me to inquire about receiving her blessing, she asked if she was supposed to tell me all the things she had done wrong. I reassured her that all of us have flaws, and that God loves us just as we are. I have found that young people in particular need to be reassured of God’s personal love for them. I like to tell them that in I Corinthians 3:16 it says, “Do you not know that  you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul writes of what he calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” He is speaking of the personal transformation that gradually takes place in us if we choose to be led by the Spirit of God. Each time I am asked to give a blessing, I am humbled. I know that God’s Spirit surrounds me if only I let it in. How profoundly challenging it is: a love affair with God, a venture of open-ended growth, and the project of a lifetime.