Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Retreat!

The word retreat is an interesting one, the idea of drawing back or away...  I feel that way with different things in my life.  
Sometimes its a needed thing, like when my priorities are unbalanced.  Then it becomes a good thing to lighten my grip and to back off what I was so intent on, or so consumed by.  
And then when I look at the idea of taking a retreat for Spiritual reasons...  Initially the two ideas don't seem to go together.  I look at a retreat as a time of making a connection of God, of building the relationship, of resting and growing.  And then there is the sense I have that people who go on retreats are super-spiritual and get God-things I'll never understand.  Those people intimidate me.  
But then I realize that by choosing to leave my regular life behind for a little bit to commune with God really is retreat.  It's the decision to back away from a lifestyle that has perhaps gotten too busy or too filled with things of temporal value.  And when I look at how God can draw me in that time, well, there's nothing to scary about that-or even super-spiritual!
This past weekend I was able to go on a silence and solitude retreat.  I thought I was too busy to go, and was dreading it.  Plus it was for class and I didn't want to spend the weekend with classmates I barely knew.  
Let me just affirm that this time beat my expectations hands down.  God was there.  I experienced His Presence in a way I have not in a while.  This came at such a needed time as well.  My life really isn't so smooth right now, nor is it in most people's lives that I know.  God is up to something and none of us know what it is, but we're in it!  So this pause from that stress was a blessing.  I came away from this weekend with the knowledge that God did something amazing in my life.  I have a hard time describing it, but it happened.  Nothing flashy or TV-evangelist-in-your-face, but more gently, more humbly.  Like the way the Saviour of the Universe came to earth quietly and started human life in the manger of an tiny, unknown locale.  Humble and unassuming.  Yet mysterious and powerful.  
I feel like I have the sparkle-dust-glow of that God-encounter on me still.  Which is good since I'm back in the real world.  My problems didn't go away at all, but now I can approach them from a different perspective.  A better one.  One where God is involved and I know it.
I plan on taking more retreats now.  Before I didn't get it, I didn't see the value really.  But now I do.  I hope you can experience this as well.  I know a good spot if you need a recommendation!