Sharing A Labyrinth Walk on Campus

After class one day, I went up to the chapel to walk and pray. A student choir was rehearsing in the front by the piano. Their voices and Kachin song accompanied me as I moved on the labyrinth. When I was done, I continued my prayer as I looked out the fourth-floor windows. Suddenly I was aware of someone beside me, “How do you do this?” the first-year student asked. When I turned around I saw two other students already praying. I told her, “Let’s walk together, I’ll show you.” She wasn’t sure what to do when she got to the first turn, but with a little encouragement and a few basic instructions, she was following the path on her own. In the center, I heard quiet sobbing. I prayed for her journey–on and off the labyrinth.

Afterward, she found me at the window again. “This prayer really changes us,” she told me. “What did you experience?” I asked. “When I came I was only aware of my problems, but now I feel different.” We talked about her concerns and her prayer. She told me she wanted to build a labyrinth at her church. I explained that next year I will be offering an elective class on labyrinth prayer which will include labyrinth construction, and invited her to take it. I hope she does!

I love how God uses the labyrinth to touch people and to minister to their needs. Over and over again, I see God using labyrinth prayer to bring people together, to help us care for one another, and to inspire us to serve our communities in new ways.