And this morning, two of my dearest friends drove to the airports that will return them home to Virginia.... after a wonderful, amazing, "God did it!" retreat this past weekend.
Retreat- according to thefreedictionary.com
retreat [rɪˈtriːt]
vb (mainly intr)
1. (Military) Military to withdraw or retire in the face of or from action with an enemy, either due to defeat or in order to adopt a more favourable position
2. to retire or withdraw, as to seclusion or shelter
3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Physiology) (of a person's features) to slope back; recede
4. (Group Games / Chess & Draughts) (tr) Chess to move (a piece) back
n
1. the act of retreating or withdrawing
2. (Military) Military
a. a withdrawal or retirement in the face of the enemy
b. a bugle call signifying withdrawal or retirement, esp (formerly) to within a defended fortification
3. retirement or seclusion
4. a place, such as a sanatorium or monastery, to which one may retire for refuge, quiet, etc.
5. a period of seclusion, esp for religious contemplation
6. (Medicine) an institution, esp a private one, for the care and treatment of the mentally ill, infirm, elderly, etc.
[from Old French retret, from retraire to withdraw, from Latin retrahere to pull back; see retract]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
As a military term, retreat first seems to imply turn and run but the definition here is active and positive- to withdraw in face of action with an enemy ... to adopt a more favorable position. It is pulling back your troops to reassess and form a new plan for the next phase of the battle.
As Christians we are accustomed to retreat as withdrawing for contemplation or restoration. Jesus withdrew to the mountains and eventually, a quiet garden where He wrestled with the task set before him.
This past weekend, at a glorious retreat in a cozy lodge in the Black Hills, women withdrew to a quiet place to give space in their heads to think, to give space in their hearts to experience new ways of connecting deeply with God and to give space in their lives to enjoy other like-minded women.
But on our retreat, we also were given tools to create a more favorable position, a strategy for awareness, an awakening to God's activity in our souls and in our worlds. We retreated and came away fortified and re-Paired- our souls and our minds deliberately connected. We can more clearly see our Creator and hear His voice and feel His love and grace in our lives.
Too often in the past, I have attended events, retreats, conferences and had "mountain top" experiences, only to trudge back down the mountain to the valley below. Back to life....sometimes, life as usual.
A gift of being more mature, older, a woman of a certain age!.... is the release of my expectations from these events. I now trust that God knows what I need and I have learned how to sift and chose a nugget or two that I can chew on. And, praise God, my life is no longer a series of ecstatic mountain top experiences and difficult, dreary valleys. At my age walking the steady path, following in the footsteps of the church fathers and mothers, and recognizing my place in the wide open spaces of God is more than I need.
And I recognize the gift of deep, abiding friendships with other women who travel with me. I appreciate how we enrich each other's journey. What a lovely, lovely gift. We don't live this life alone well- we need iron to sharpen us and a handhold to steady us. We create more and we dream bigger when we join our giftings with other women in a spirit of collaboration and giving. Personal agendas are less important now than hearing God through the voices of trusted friends. I have had a wonderful retreat myself and the added bonus of a few precious days with dear friends from my life in Virginia.
I'll be writing more in the coming months about the possible fruits of this retreat, the "more favorable position"some of us have found from this time of withdrawal but suffice it to say, the retreat is over and we're now we're advancing. Ours is not a battle charge lead by a triumphant blast- we're just stepping out in quiet confidence that the God who planted the idea of this retreat, the God who brought these amazing, creative, loving women together for community this weekend; that same faithful God has planted seeds and we are excited to participate.
Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God can be summed up with this-
"God is always at work around you.
God pursues a continuing love relationship with you.....
God invites you to become involved with Him in His work."
We have retreated, we have been re-Paired, we are open. What's next, God?
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