Gratitude

I am writing this from Camp Christian where I am on a silent retreat.

I came this morning and leave tomorrow....I will have been here for 23 hours...which sounds like a hospital visit. And it certainly has been a gift to me to have this time with God.
Here. In this very special place.

I cannot walk around here and not remember so many times and experiences in my life. I first came in the early 80's and was a chi rho counselor . And since that first week, I have served as counselor, assistant director, faculty member and co direct of Grandparents camp.
If I put all those days together I think it would be almost a year of my life. I have memories of when Audrey was on staff and learned so much about maintenance that has helped her to this day. I remember when Kacey was a chi rho camper and lit the cheesecloth. I remember stories told at vespers by Howard, Terry, Jim and Larry. And all kinds of worship experiences...especially by young adults at Advance Conference. I have attended so many meetings here and led a lot of retreats. Lives have been changed here and mine was one of them.

So I am grateful for my past here but also for this time today. I have walked and prayed and read and written and just been present.
And as the day has gone on, I feel the heaviness that sometimes I carry start to lift.
I have seen so many butterflies today and they seem to be reminding me that God is with me on this journey. Always with me.
I keep learning so many of the same things, but they continue to be true and easily forgotten ....
Like slow down and live In this moment
Like you really can trust God with your work, your family, your future
Like rest in the Lord...there is a time to receive the rest that is found in green pastures and beside still waters
Like....be present to the mystery that is your life

Eugene Peterson writes that we sometimes need to be rescued from "a life in which the wonder has leaked out."

And so, a day in silence, in the beauty of Camp .Christian helps to restore my soul.

Melody Beattie writes
"Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life
It turns what we have into enough, and more
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,
Confusion into clarity
It can turn a meal into a feast,
A house into a home,
A stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
And creates a vision for tomorrow."