Women's Retreat Fun

After a stress filled week, leaving for Camp Egan last Friday evening with eleven other members of our congregation doesn’t sound restful but it was. My mom went again this year and it was a joy to be with her at one of our favorite places to experience God. I have to confess that I was a little worried about the heat but since all the meeting and sleeping areas were air conditioned, we were all very comfortable.

The drive over was filled with story telling and laughter. We talked about the origins of our names and learned something special about each other. The bonding began the minute we drove away from the church. Our younger moms shared about the stresses at home and their joy in stepping away. Brittney Blakley and Veronica Beck planned a beautiful retreat for us. Our focus was finding new creative ways to pray and they provided us each with our own box of markers and a prayer journal. I was getting my haircut this week and pulled out my journal to share with my friend who cuts my hair. We talked about all the ways that we learned to pray and she was intrigued with what we had done. I was able to share a witness about the beauty of our church because of my new prayer journal.

We had new members, old members and inactive members attend this event and then surprise my by showing up in worship on Sunday morning at eleven. I feel connected to these women in a deeper way and enjoyed watching them lift each other up and love each other. I wish that I could replicate this experience with every member of our congregation. But connecting the way we did required discipline and vulnerability. Neither of those things are easy. I encourage you to join a group, take a road trip or share a meal with someone from our church and get to know them. You will be glad that you did.

Blessings,