Retreat

I was privileged to be able to attend the Shepherdess Retreat this weekend at Indian Creek Camp. Our speaker was Dr. Janice Browne. Oh my…. it was so special.

There were no grand decorations… Just the lovely place that Indian Creek Camp is. The weather was perfect – warm. This was a retreat for the pastor’s wives in our conference. It was the first time they had done something like this for us. I am soooo thankful.

Not everyone was able to attend and we had a small group of around 20. The schedule was very relaxed. No rushing. No responsibilities on Sabbath other than showing up for breakfast and the meeting. That in and of itself was a very nice gift. For a pastor’s wife Sabbath is often anything but restful. There was no stress.

It gave us time to get to know each other better. Friday night, I stayed up way too late (until about 3 am) talking to one of my best friends. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky which is about 4 or 5 hours from where I live. We only get to see each other a few times a year. So it was really nice to see her. It was kind of like a slumber party.

Me and Laura (after we met a few years ago we found out that our husbands are distant cousins by marriage!)

There were a lot of tears and a lot of laughter. It was very therapeutic. It was healing. We drew closer to Christ. We shared our most embarrassing stories. We shared our requests for prayer. Janice Browne was incredible. I don’t know how to describe her except that it was a divine appointment and meant to be. She was called by God to be there with us this weekend. I have no doubt about that. It was so amazing!

On Sunday we spent nearly 5 hours straight doing something they called “Affirmations.” We sat in a circle and took turns one at a time sitting in the middle of the circle. We would go around the circle and each person would tell the lady sitting in the middle nice things she had observed or knew about her. It was hard to hear for me – and yet very nice – and surprising as well. Not everyone knew each other “really” well, but we had all observed and noticed wonderful things about each other. So much love was shared. And lots of hugs.

I left that place feeling renewed, refreshed, and re-energized… ready to witness again for my God and to share the amazing work that He has done in my life. Praise God! He is sooo Good to me!