I have had the privilege to share quality time with some very special people over the last year. They are my fellow students in the Spiritual Direction program. And the gift they have given me is a true experience of joy, fellowship, and God's love. We have studied together, eaten together, sung and worshiped together, walked and talked together. We come from different backgrounds, have varied work experiences and different personalities. But what cements us in a strong bond is that we are all walking the same journey - wanting to be close to God and share that experience with others.
A vital part of our bond is honesty, with each other and with our God. We are open, and feel safe in that openness. Sharing our worries, concerns, and joys helps understanding and reveals that deep down we have matching frailties! And the neat thing is we can rejoice with each other, even in our frailties!
A month ago, I was part of a more temporary community, in that we were together for just a long week end. I was fortunate to be able to travel to South Carolina to a Christian Writers' Retreat where we shared our writing and learned to improve and hone our gift. There we ate and talked together, worshiped, laughed and cried together, shared in each others endeavors and successes, gave advice and received it. What a great experience it was!
It always surprises me how much a group of "strangers" can coalesce so quickly into a small community, a little church, a part of the body of Christ. What a blessing!
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2: 42
What a great weekend we had - I miss everybody & can't wait until next year!! And just think - next year we'll all be a year ahead with our writing AND blogging!
ReplyDeleteOh Sue, this is beautiful! It brought back all those warm fuzzy feelings we had together. And you're right, a group of strangers truly can become "a small community, a little church, a part of the body of Christ," as long as He is the center of it.
ReplyDeleteI miss you!
Sue, it was a great week! I miss everyone, too. I joined the site and I'm so glad we're all staying in touch!
ReplyDeleteI love it Sue! When you're with other believers you're with family!
ReplyDeleteThanks all! Definitely looking forward to next year's retreat. Margie, I love your photo! I've never had clowns as friends before :-)
ReplyDeleteSue, you are absolutely right. We learned so much from each other, had a lot of fun, and encouraged each other daily. We quickly became family because we share the same passion for writing and speaking and have the same spiritual values. I can hardly wait until the next retreat. What a blessing you all were to me.
ReplyDeleteI know those first people!
ReplyDeleteSue, I didn't understand the networked blogs thing, but I've added both your blogs to my reader.