Back from Retreat

The retreat was wonderful. There wound up being 13 of us and I knew only 3 really well. It was such a pleasure to get to a deeper level of friendship with the others who I already admired from monthly Prayer Meeting attendance and CRHP weekend support. There also was a group of kids and youth ministers there from a Garland parish (near Dallas) for a confirmation retreat. These kids were really nice and it was truly inspirational to see their level of involvement in worship when they graciously invited us to share their evening Mass.

We had a lot of time to be in solitude with nature, which I think I remember Steve Bogner at Catholicism, spirituality and holiness mentioning from a week or two ago. I haven't been to the country for a long time and it was luxurious to be able to wander through paths in the woods looking at God's creation. When we did the Stations of the Cross outside as a group it was a totally different experience than I had ever had when doing them in the usual Friday setting in a church. Nature really is God's everyday cathedral and I am so glad that I went if only to be reminded of that fact, even if it DID take a two hour drive to get there!

I felt I had been called to this retreat for some reason and that was dramatically revealed in three parts. I won't mention any specifics here other than to say I am at this point pondering just how to pass on the message I was given for someone else. Weird sounding I know but very clearly this is what I am to do.

The other pleasure came when I returned home. I was ready to gladly serve my family by grocery shopping, washing clothes, cooking dinner, etc. When I came home it was done. The house was clean, all chores were done, Rose cooked dinner (chicken in mustard sauce, mmm mmm good!), and one of the dogs had been pining away until I returned. What else could I ask? It was a very generous and kind gift given to me by my loving family

Then to top it off, my blogging "gang" of Julie M., Alexa, Rebecca, and Kalanna had been doing some round robin impressions about blogs they read regularly. It was like a little gift in itself to read what Julie M. had written about this blog (ok, ME!). Thanks gang!

Now I'm renewed so it's time for me to remember the message I was given before I left to give, give, give. I got a call tonight that gave me that very opportunity. Just as I was turning over in my mind the idea that answering this request was not going to be very convenient for me, "give, give, give" echoed through my mind. I remembered that it was the things that weren't convenient that were the occasions for such giving. So I quit looking for excuses, did what I was asked and did it GLADLY by the way, and was blessed in the process. When will I learn that is so often the case? Guess I just have to keep on getting these reminders.

Once again, my kind and loving family also gave ... cheerfully letting me go out into the night for a couple of hours for this task. How I am blessed. God is good.