Warm Beach Camp

We had our annual Women's Retreat this past weekend. It is usually held at Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood, Washington. Since I moved to Colorado Springs for the twelve years between 1994 and 2006, my attendance has been spotty! God did enable me to fly home for two of them. I think it was 1995 and 2000... maybe.

Being back at Warm Beach stirred up my emotional and spiritual pot. Memories of my time there as a baby Christian, the amazing ways God spoke to me, and some not-so-amazing memories of conflicts within our group of women, all threatened to draw me away from what was happening there now, in 2008.

I'm not great at processing (I hate that word) my life experiences. I tend to careen forward, racing down the path, yelling to God over my shoulder to "catch up!" This may be why He has to, from time to time, sit me down for a "come to Jesus" meeting. The kind where He gently plants your fanny on a tall stool, puts both His huge hands on either side, leans down and looks you in the eye.

Does this ever happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

This weekend was a little bit of that. He gave me some gentle reminders from my years of walking with Him. Reminders that every answer I will EVER need in life is found in His word; that He loves me and is infinitely patient with me; and maybe most importantly, that this isn't all there is for me. He has a plan - a wonderful and precious and perfect plan - for the future of all who love Him,who are His... (Jeremiah 29:11)

I think one reason He's called me to write so that I will have to process through the stuff of life. I mean, in order to write intelligently about anything, in any format, you need to reflect on what you are trying to say so that other people will, hopefully, understand. Basically, I have to slow down long enough to hear what He's said to me, long enough to think about how that might impact another, and THEN to actually try to put it into words that matter and make sense.

That sounds kind of scary. No wonder I try to race on ahead!

It's a good thing I took notes.