Dear Friends,
I'm looking forward to our retreat coming up in just three weeks! As it approaches, I find I am very much looking forward to engaging the theme of rest.
Truth be told, I was not originally excited about rest as retreat theme. As I prayed about this retreat together with the staff, I felt very strongly that the Spirit was guiding us toward quietness and rest. But I didn't like it. I don't tend to enjoy slowing down. Jamie and I are the sort of people who plan vacations that are so packed with activity that we feel like we need a vacation from our vacation when we get home. Earlier this summer, we went on a road trip to Colorado, ostensibly to attend a party for Jamie's parents' 60th wedding anniversary. We packed as much activity into 12 days as we could. With 2 cars and 11 people, including 5 adults, 2 teens, 1 six year old, 1 two year old, 1 ten month old, and 1 four month old, we drove about 3,300 miles and, utilizing a combination of campgrounds, hotels, and homes, visited 6 national parks and monuments, including Saguaro, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Rocky Mountain, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. We had a great time, but we came home completely exhausted.
This is generally how we roll. So, when I felt we were supposed to focus on rest at our retreat this year, I felt somewhat panicked. Who could help Coast engage a time of rest? Certainly not me! I looked for a guest speaker I could turn things over to without much success. I read a book about rest, hoping to find exciting ideas for restful activities. (No, the irony of searching for exciting restful activities is not lost on me. Like I said, I'm not good at this.) I also prayed. This was more useful. The Spirit led me to Jesus' invitation to his disciples in Mark 6:31, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Little by little, I began to understand that I did not need to do a lot of work to prepare for this retreat and that getting some rest with Jesus and with each other would be . . . well . . . restful.
A small group of us have planned a relaxed schedule with a lot of worship and few simple activities for engaging rest together. If you've registered for the retreat, you should be getting an email this week with the schedule and a few important details. One thing to do in the meantime is to simply reflect on Mark 6:31 and the invitation of Jesus to get away from everything together with him and with each other and rest.
Much love,
Michelle
