Good morning…
7:53 am. The sun will rise at 7:53 am on the sacred grounds of the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Fifteen courageous women, who are recovering from homelessness and addiction, will awaken on spiritual retreat in their own private rooms. What an incredible gift, the gift of alone time with God. My prayers are with these precious women, as they sleep and as they rise. God, please awaken the power of your guiding Spirit within their tenderized hearts.
“I will be returning ladies to Marta at noon,” wrote a dear friend, who is also a recovering addict. “I love seeing the light in their eyes after they have been fed, spiritually and physically. The good news of Jesus, the great food, the beauty of nature, the life-giving conversations, and the welcome bags you create, all of these blessings combine to make each woman feel so loved.”
Bright eyes and a cheerful expression bring joy to the heart, and good news revives the spirit and renews health (Proverbs 15:30, VOICE).
Another friend texted me last night: “I loved your post this AM & how you & God got the bags done!! Please let me know the date of the next ISP retreat & I’d love to bake and write notes! ❤️🙏❤️.”
Monday, May 12th is the next overnight retreat for another group of recovering women from nearby residential treatment facilities. I have marked my calendar (yeah!) and I will blog about it the week before, reaching out to our written word community, offering the opportunity to contribute needed items for our next set of fifteen welcome bags.
Bright eyes. Cheerful expression. Joyful heart. Revived spirit. Renewed health. Our generosity helps to stir up the abundant gifts of God.
…Sue…
P.S. Ignatius House offers these retreats free of charge for women recovering from homelessness and addiction. If you missed the opportunity yesterday and feel compelled to help offset the retreat costs, please scroll down to the bottom of this link to give a tax-deductible donation to Ignatius House Retreat Center.
Please identify yourself as a “SueToYou subscriber” in the notes, so they can keep track of the amount our written word community contributes collectively.
