I don't like change. I'm human. New experiences are scary and, well, new.
So what did I do this week for my birthday? I went on a 2 day-1 night personal retreat down in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. My first personal retreat. Appropriately enough I stayed at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey (guest house, that is).
(No, I haven't converted to Catholic. Yes, my birthday was in April but I'm celebrating all year long because I turned 30.)
So, what does one do exactly on a personal retreat? Well, I’m glad you asked. I got the idea from two books I’ve read this year. The first is Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and the second is Every Woman’s Battle by Shannon Etheridge. The idea evolved into getting some intensive quality time with just me and God. An extended quiet time, if you will. I planned on taking some cues from Foster and doing some studying.
The drive was beautiful. Straight shot down 65 to Louisville (that's pronounced Lou-uh-vul for those non-Kentuckians) then 64 to 145 to 62. Okay, so after Louisville it wasn't so much a straight shot. :)
I was immediately stuck by the beauty of the Archabbey campus. Even the guest house was quite nice with a lovely entrance walkway. Click on the post title to get to the photo album on Facebook.
However, after I checked in, I struggled to figure out what I was doing. It was almost time for lunch and I had no clue where to go. The lady at the desk suggested going over to the Abbey for the midday prayers and going with the priests to Anselm Hall for lunch. I asked if I could walk to the church. I should have asked how to walk there. I misunderstood her or she misunderstood me. I ended up driving over. There was no parking.
So I drove back to the guest house, parked and walked through the guest house and over to the church. Naturally I was late. I slipped in the front door to the very edgest seat on the end. An gentleman on the opposite side of the room nicely came over and gave me a program. I followed along but was mostly lost since I’m not Catholic and was unfamiliar with what was going on.
I followed some of the folks out and still struggled to find the dining hall over behind the church. My stomach was churning and there were signifigant butterflies going on inside. I made my way into the dining area, following suit and leaving my bag outside in the hall with the others. Then I walked into the room.
It was wall to wall priests. In their civies, sure, but I knew they were all priests. I was out of place, and didn’t belong and wanted to run away. I maintained my composure on the outside and walked to the back to find the drinks. I had a glass of cranberry juice while I stared out the window at the trees, wondering what on earth I was doing here. What was I thinking?
Tune in tomorrow for the Part 2 of this series. I find encouragement.
So what did I do this week for my birthday? I went on a 2 day-1 night personal retreat down in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. My first personal retreat. Appropriately enough I stayed at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey (guest house, that is).
(No, I haven't converted to Catholic. Yes, my birthday was in April but I'm celebrating all year long because I turned 30.)
So, what does one do exactly on a personal retreat? Well, I’m glad you asked. I got the idea from two books I’ve read this year. The first is Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and the second is Every Woman’s Battle by Shannon Etheridge. The idea evolved into getting some intensive quality time with just me and God. An extended quiet time, if you will. I planned on taking some cues from Foster and doing some studying.
The drive was beautiful. Straight shot down 65 to Louisville (that's pronounced Lou-uh-vul for those non-Kentuckians) then 64 to 145 to 62. Okay, so after Louisville it wasn't so much a straight shot. :)
I was immediately stuck by the beauty of the Archabbey campus. Even the guest house was quite nice with a lovely entrance walkway. Click on the post title to get to the photo album on Facebook.
However, after I checked in, I struggled to figure out what I was doing. It was almost time for lunch and I had no clue where to go. The lady at the desk suggested going over to the Abbey for the midday prayers and going with the priests to Anselm Hall for lunch. I asked if I could walk to the church. I should have asked how to walk there. I misunderstood her or she misunderstood me. I ended up driving over. There was no parking.
So I drove back to the guest house, parked and walked through the guest house and over to the church. Naturally I was late. I slipped in the front door to the very edgest seat on the end. An gentleman on the opposite side of the room nicely came over and gave me a program. I followed along but was mostly lost since I’m not Catholic and was unfamiliar with what was going on.
I followed some of the folks out and still struggled to find the dining hall over behind the church. My stomach was churning and there were signifigant butterflies going on inside. I made my way into the dining area, following suit and leaving my bag outside in the hall with the others. Then I walked into the room.
It was wall to wall priests. In their civies, sure, but I knew they were all priests. I was out of place, and didn’t belong and wanted to run away. I maintained my composure on the outside and walked to the back to find the drinks. I had a glass of cranberry juice while I stared out the window at the trees, wondering what on earth I was doing here. What was I thinking?
Tune in tomorrow for the Part 2 of this series. I find encouragement.
Comments
Post a Comment