Kristina Hevenor is a wife, mother, working professional, corps lay leader, and a woman fiercely aware of her spiritual health and growth.  She has learned to be flexible and incorporate a prayer rhythm for the busy life that is hers.

Biographical sketch

I was born to Officer parents and lived all over the Territory until I settled in Massachusetts after college. I have Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work. I have worked for the Army in both corps and divisional social services for over 10 years. While raising my two children, I ran a successful home-based business, then began working in elementary education. I am currently the librarian in an elementary school, a job I absolutely love! I have held many local officer positions at my corps and am currently the CSM at Lowell Citadel. My husband Keith and I enjoy the company of our two young adult children, Jacob and Laura. When I’m not working, or at the corps, you can find me reading a book, traveling (in a non-COVID world!), or at the beach.

 

What is your spiritual discipline?

The spiritual discipline that has most impacted my life is prayer.

 

Why did you choose it?

Prayer has not always been easy for me. In fact, my prayer life has gone through many seasons, with times of great depth and times when I couldn’t pray at all. I had this idea of what prayer should look and sound like, and I never felt that my prayers were reaching that ideal. But once I began to practice prayer as a consistent, ongoing conversation with God, I discovered the power of His presence with me. In my experience, prayer was step one in the disciplined spiritual life.

 

How did you get started?

My prayer life changed when I spent a year in Beth Moore’s little devotional book “Praying God’s Word Day by Day.” The practice of praying verses of the Bible every day created a rhythm of prayer that I continue to this day. God wants to hear it all. The writers of Scripture share everything with Him, which gave me permission to do the same. This was very freeing. It changed prayer from a lofty endeavor to a practical and powerful relationship.

 

How do you presently practice this discipline?

I pray a lot! There’s so much to be learned from church fathers and mothers, and the practice of praying throughout the day is one of them. My daily rhythm generally includes a simple prayer to start the day, time to pause in contemplation and silence in the afternoon, intercessory prayer in the evening, and prayers of thanks before bed. I also love to converse with God during long walks. He never fails to meet with me during those times.

 

What has been your personal benefit to this practice?

Richard Foster calls it the “with-God life.” It’s a deepening, an assurance, living Emmanuel (God with us) 24/7/365. Not long after I finished my year of praying God’s word, I was diagnosed with cancer. This was no accident, of course! I had asked God for a deeper relationship with Him, and He gave it to me in a big way.

 

Any resources or anything else that you find helpful:

• Books
  • “Praying God’s Word Day by Day” by Beth Moore
  • “Celebration of Discipline” and “A Year with God – Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines” by Richard Foster
  • “How to Pray – A Simple Guide for Normal People” by Pete Greig
• Websites
  • www.prayercourse.org
• Apps
  • Lectio 365
  • Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
• In addition to regular walking, I have found Pilates (a gentle practice of stretching, deep breathing, and core conditioning) to be incredibly helpful in connecting my body to my spirit. I recommend “The Balanced Life Pilates with Robin Long” on YouTube as a great place to get started.