Hearing the Call: Spiritual Directors on Discerning Their Vocation

reflection by Ashley Brooks

Have you ever wondered what people mean when they say they “heard a call” to their vocation? This type of language is common in spiritual circles—but how does one actually discern a calling?

Discerning a calling is rarely a sudden or solitary moment. It more often unfolds gradually through prayer, community, restlessness, and the quiet persistence of holy questions that refuse to go away: What is being asked of me? What gifts am I being called to offer? What must I release so I can be open to this call? 

For those who feel drawn toward spiritual direction, this discernment can be especially tender, touching on your own attentiveness to the movement of the Spirit in both yourself and others.

Sacred Ground has accompanied many on this path through our Spiritual Direction Formation & Training Program, including spiritual director and former Sacred Ground board member Kayla Koep. Kayla has graciously offered her discernment story as a guide for others who are walking the path of listening deeply for their calling.

Kayla’s Call to Spiritual Direction

Like many spiritual directors, Kayla’s journey begins with her own experience of entering into spiritual direction. It was centering prayer that initially caught Kayla’s attention fifteen years ago with her first spiritual director. It was such a profound experience for her that she thought, “I think I want to do something like this someday.” 

This contemplative approach to encountering God was new for Kayla. Kayla’s time at a nondenominational Christian college had helped her clarify what wasn’t for her—traditional ministry paths such as youth pastor or music minister never quite fit. Still, she continued to encounter a deep sense of communion with the Divine through a contemplative spirituality that increasingly felt like home.

Years later, as Kayla reflected on her future with the support of a life coach, those early experiences of spiritual direction resurfaced. She found herself drawn again to the way her spiritual director had listened, held space, and supported her without judgment. A desire emerged to offer that same kind of attentive companionship to others.

Kayla knew she wanted a spiritual director training program that was local and in person. It was easy to narrow it down to Sacred Ground. Kayla noticed that she had a shared spiritual language with Sacred Ground. When she met with the leaders of the program, they shared resources including many of the books that were already on Kayla’s shelves! “It felt like I’d found my people,” she said. As someone who wasn’t part of a church community at that time, Kayla felt that Sacred Ground became her spiritual home. It was a space free of judgment, that accepted her as she was and welcomed her questions. 

“As much as other people pointed me toward spiritual direction, I also feel like it found me.” For Kayla, the call did not arrive with certainty so much as with a sense of holy curiosity that gently pursued her attention. Her season of training and formation at Sacred Ground became a life-giving space where that curiosity could deepen and take root, ultimately changing the course of her life.

Looking back, Kayla describes discernment not as a process of resolving every question but as learning to dwell with them. The call, she suggests, often unfolds in the willingness to remain present, trusting that clarity comes through attentive listening over time.

An Invitation to Explore Discernment

Each person’s story of discernment and calling will be different, but they all share an openness to exploring the questions within themselves. We invite you to join us via Zoom on Thursday, February 19 for our online open house. You’ll learn more about our Spiritual Direction Formation & Training Program, meet faculty, and hear the experience of recent alumni. Join us not to rush toward certainty, but to dwell in the questions.