Dear Friends in Christ -
As I write this, I am sitting in a rustic "cabin" in on the northwestern coast of Massachusetts. The sun in shining and the birds are singing and the temperature is just right for sitting here with the sun dropping down in flashy bits through the pine needles and the leaves.
Some of you have asked what I "do" on retreat. Well, perhaps the most important thing I "do" is ONE THING AT A TIME. I "do" the regular rhythm of life - sleeping, eating, exercising, praying, talking with people, reading, even a little bit of working - but everything slower and with more space for solitude and silence, which makes way for noticing things and realizing things.
This past Friday through Sunday, I participated in a "guided retreat" led by famous spiritual author Esther de Waal. She led four sessions entitled "Imagine," and she wove personal reflections, poetry, and short films together to invite all of us (60 participants) to imagine God and our relationship with God in new ways, which makes room for new possibilities.
Done properly, retreat is both entirely hard work and entirely refreshing. Thomas Merton once said that getting in touch with God in this way is getting "beyond the shadow and the disguise." Indeed, when I go on retreat, I run into things in myself I've been trying to avoid and pains I haven't allowed myself to feel. Working through those with God and trusted friends is hard - and renewing.
Esther says that "retreat is NOT a time of escape, but a time of deepening ones powers to deal with reality." This is certainly true for me. And I make my way home on this day with my body and spirit energized and my mind and heart full of new insights and hope.
I can't wait to see what God has for me - and for us - as we continue God's work together!
Faithfully,
Janet+
No comments:
Post a Comment