Good morning…
I wake in the middle of this night with one word on my mind: retreat. As I am drawn to explore the word on Dictionary.com, I notice that, as a noun, retreat means “a place of refuge, seclusion, privacy.” I see that as a verb, retreat means “the act of withdrawing, as into safety, privacy, seclusion.” As a place (noun) of experience (verb), I think of Ignatius House Retreat Center, a sacred space fifteen minutes from our home. Any time spent on these hallowed grounds always does my soul such good.
My soul is fed when I retreat, taking intentional time away in private seclusion, withdrawing into safe refuge. I also love to make it possible for other women to retreat with God. That is why every quarter our written word community supports fifteen different women, who are each recovering from addiction and homelessness, as they experience an Ignatian Spirituality Project (ISP) retreat at Ignatius House Retreat Center.
Season after season, I blog about the opportunity and joyfully, effortlessly, magically together we create fifteen Welcome Bags to greet the women as they enter their private rooms. Reusable bags. Toiletry kits. Coloring books. Colored pencils. Ceramic crosses. Yummy lotions. Lip gloss. Pens and journals. Sweet snacks. Salty snacks. Small kleenex packs. Scripture cards. Handwritten notes of encouragement. Fuzzy socks. Packs of gum. Beaded bracelets. These bags burst with symbols of the love of God.
On Tuesday afternoon, a dear friend, who recently lost her husband, offered to help me stuff the bags. It was such a wonderful way to catch up while doing something simple, positive, loving. She fluffed up the bags creatively, and sunshine was beaming all over my back seat as I dropped off these happy treasures.
This overnight retreat, gifted to the women free of charge, is supported by generous donations. For this spring ISP retreat, the Development Director gave us special instructions: “The best thing to do is to give through our regular donate page here: https://ignatiushouse.org/donate/. In the comment line, please write ‘Spring ISP retreat via SueToYou blog.'” Amazingly, twenty-three women graciously donated funds or offered needed items for our Welcome Bags. We all gave a little and God blossomed much. Many thanks to all who contributed.
Now, in the middle of this moonstruck night, I pray deeply for these courageous women sleeping in their temporary beds, in their modest rooms, with their private bath. What an incredibly nurturing luxury! Women resting safely. Me praying diligently.
As those who give and those who receive are bonded beautifully on this very special night, might we all consider the wise words of Job 22:21-25 in the Message translation?
“Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine. Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart. Come back to God Almighty and he’ll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury. God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine.”
Day and night, each one of us is personally invited to give in to God. What an incredibly nurturing luxury!
…Sue…
