Once a month during the school year ('cuz that's when it's offered) I go on a silent retreat day. I drive over the hill, as we call it in this neck of the woods, to hoity-toity land to a retreat center where two amazing people have prepared a day long prayer retreat for about 12 of us. After spending much, much time in front of computer, behind a desk, in an office, in a youth room, basically, inside, my favorite thing to do is to sit outside and pray.
So that's where I was yesterday. Sitting outside praying or not praying. Usually I feel this need to complete all the work handed to me in a timely manner, making sure to talk to God about everything written down on the piece of paper I received at the beginning of the day but not yesterday. Yesterday I put the paper down, picked up my notebook and wrote these words, "Today I give myself a break." I didn't force myself to follow the outline, to come up with words to say to God, I just sat and listened to the birds, watched the squirrels run around, pondered the drops of water from the recent rain dripping off the roof, enjoyed the feel of sunshine warming up my legs. I gave myself a break.
God showed up there. God was there all along. God spoke, I wrote. I spoke, God held. God was silent, I was silent. I don't do it very often but yesterday I gave myself a break. I highly recommend them.
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