Sunrise 7:09: Understanding discernment

The female Dawn Jogger, solo again this morning, reflected on discernment on a pre-dawn run that was punctuated by the fresh smell of damp earth and the sound of twittering birds. Since the beginning of the year, she has participated as a member of her parish's rector search committee. The search requires not only recruitment, interviewing, and selection but the process of discernment in both directions - by the candidates and by the committee. And unlike secular employment, there is prayer, listening to God. It is a challenge to listen - and a challenge to discern. As a noun discernment is defined as "the faculty of discerning; discrimination; acuteness of judgment and understanding." The word discriminate jumped out. A word with a negative connotation is positive within the framework of keenness of insight and the presence of the Holy Spirit.