Sharon Carter
Sharon loves sharing the sweet details of her journey to spiritual direction and Dovehouse Ministries. As a graduate of Wheaton College (IL) with a B.A. in Education, Sharon was an educator in both public and private schools before spending the last 21 years in the ministries of motherhood and family, friendship and hospitality, as well as women’s and young adult discipleship in her local church. Sharon became quite adept at noticing God’s love, care, and work in the lives of others but is quick to tell you that these years were marked by a constant struggle to notice where he was in her own life.
In 2017 Sharon read two deeply impactful books and observed that both were written by a spiritual director. A google search of this unfamiliar occupation is the moment her “what about ME, God?” struggle ceased, purpose was given to her past, and clarity given to her future. Sharon’s personal spiritual direction, journey through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, as well as her training are through Dovehouse Ministries. She considers it a privilege to join its mission as a spiritual director. Sharon is passionate about offering spaces of silence and solitude for individuals and small groups as they listen to and for the voice of God, grow and deepen in friendship with Jesus, and discern the guiding ways of the Holy Spirit in daily life. Sharon finds in Isaiah 61 her charge as a spiritual director and she sees the ways in which this unique ministry can play an important role in the transformation of individuals, the Church, and the world.
Sharon and her husband Erik married in 1997 and are parents to one daughter and two sons. Over the years they have called Madison, Wisconsin and Nashville, Tennessee home. 2023 brings great change and new adventure as they relocate to Waco, Texas. Her deep desire is that this new season of life will include furthering her studies and deepening her understanding of Ignatian spirituality and direction.