Silence

So I went to the Sisters of Loretto's Mother House today for a prayer retreat. It was such a beautiful day. Today was a day just to enjoy nature and God and silence. We arrived at the Mother House around 10am and after hearing from Joanne (a sister living at Loretto) we walked out to see where the prayer labyrinth was and some of the hermitages. This was a silent area on the campus of 700+ acres. After seeing where the labyrinth was I walked out to the large lake on the property. There I read my morning devotionals and just laid out in the grass by the pond. It was so peaceful not having anyone around and just enjoying the beauty of creation, hearing the grasshoppers and birds that were all around the lake and watching the fish and goose (yes there was just one large goose swimming in the lake). Shortly before lunch I walked back to the chapel, where we were to meet and jotted down a few lines for my summer sermon, this was a great day to get some ideas for that sermon. I ate lunch with another "pilgrim" and two women who were living in the nursing home on the site. This was the only 1/2 hour of talking I had in the 4 hours we spent there (excluding the first meeting with Joanne and the debriefing at the end).

After lunch I walked over to the labyrinth and someone was walking through it, so I went into the small prayer chapel next to it and read. I came out of the chapel after finishing my reading and walked the labyrinth, praying as I went along.After that I went back and sat at the lake again, watching the goose and fish and thinking about the day.

We meet at 2:30 to debrief from the day. A few people from our group shared what they had learned and felt through the day. Eugene shared something very profound. While reading the story of Moses, he realized that by God asking Moses to remove his sandals he was making Moses unable to run away, or to be defensive or offensive in that encounter. I really liked that idea, who knows maybe someday it will find its way into a sermon.

It was such a great day though. It was so nice to spend such a long time in silence and just enjoying being in God's presence. I had even taken my music with me, thinking that I would be intimidated by the silence, but I wasn't. At times I didn't even have a song going through my head (which never happens), but when I did it was one of two songs Mercy by Casting Crowns or Be Still and Know I Am God by Steven Curtis Chapman. The lyrics from Mercy that kept going through my head were "Thank You for Your mercy Thank You for Your mercy" from the bridge and I had the beginning of Be still and know that I am God in my head all day. I did not want to leave the Mother House today, but when I did I knew that by going there I was ready to tackle anything that may come my way for the rest of the semester. Thanks be to God for his Great Mercy!!

Back At It

Well I got back to ATS Monday afternoon after almost a week at home. It was good to see family and friends again. It was especially good to worship with my home church family at CUMC Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. All of the services were wonderful and I was so glad to be home and be a part of each of them.

Now it is back to school and classes. I can't believe that there are only about 6 weeks left in the semester. This semester and this year have flown by so fast. I am still loving all of my classes and so far am doing well in all of them too. (Really Greek is the only class I have a grade in right now, but it's an 'A')Chapel as always is still fabulous. We had a great service yesterday praising our Risen Lord!

I have decided to stay at ATS for the summer, I am still looking at taking a class but we will have to see. I am going to be home quite a bit this summer for church/ordination related things. I'll be home June 11-16 to preach and meet with my DCOM, July 9-25 for MAC-D and my Birthday, which will probably be the day I drive back, we'll see, and then I'll be home in August for licensing school (another ordination process). I am going to try and work this summer whether or not I take a class. I can't wait. I am also going to go fishing with my Greek professor some time this summer too, but I must get my pole when I go home in June first. Well that's all for now, I must get back to reading.

God Bless,
Erica <><