Relax, rejoice, rejuvenate

I've never been the outdoorsy type...or at least I don't remember ever loving the outdoors. I've been told stories and shown pictures from my childhood proving to me that I used to love to go camping. But as an adult, it's not something that I've ever just wanted to make a weekend of. And I'm not saying that I do now, but I will say that after the weekend I had at Camp Mitchell on top of Petit Jean Mountain, I definitely have a greater appreciation for the beauty of the outdoors.
 
I drove up to Petit Jean on Friday to enjoy my weekend and relax, rejoice and rejuvenate...that was the theme for the first annual women's retreat for St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Being the introvert that I am and never showing up at a party or other event alone, I thought that I would be anxious on my drive up the mountain. But I actually felt quite the opposite. I felt calm and confident as I pulled into the driveway of the Canterbury Lodge. The beautiful sunset on the drive up may have helped put my mind at ease because I remember thinking that seeing the sunset from outside our lodge was what I was looking forward to most.
 
When I walked through the door, I was welcomed by so many friendly faces...all women of St. Peter's...some of whom I've come to know rather well and others with whom I had never met before that night. Thankfully, there was no uneasiness on my part. I felt right at home. Conversations just seem to flow so easily. The people we have met over the past year at St. Peter's have opened their hearts to our family with absolutely no judgment whatsoever.  It is so nice to be a part of a church where the members see my family as that...a family. I can talk about my wife and no one looks at me with a confused look on their face like I'm from another world. Before we started going to St. Peter's, we went to church on Sunday mornings, but there was no fellowship afterwards. No one knew our names or how old our kids were. No one knew where we worked or what we liked to do on the weekends. We were just another face in the crowd...a number to add to the growing population of their mega church. That's not the case at St. Peter's. Many of the members of the church are not just members of the church, they are our friends. We love it there, which makes the weekend I had on the mountain that much more enjoyable.
 

Campfire stories and lots of laughs!

 
 


Enjoying some s'mores.



I spent a lot of time out on this rock overlooking the beauty that God has created. Sometimes there were other people out there enjoying the view with me and other times, it was just me, God and nature. Watching the sunset on Saturday night was a great experience for me. I was able to enjoy the beauty of it amongst 2 ladies that I consider my friends. As they walked back inside, I decided to sit down and thank God for the wonderful weekend he had allowed me to enjoy, the beautiful sunset I had just experienced, the walk through nature I had gone on earlier that day, the conversations I had enjoyed with several women at the retreat, the great food and drinks and laughter, my family and friends at home...and just as I finished my prayer, I felt a few rain drops. As it started to rain, I just sat there for a few minutes and enjoyed one more of God's creations and I started to cry...not because I was sad, but because the joy of the whole experience was just so overwhelming.
 
 


I stole this picture,
but it's just too great not to share.



 
 

I stole this one too because I couldn't make
myself get out of bed in time to watch the sunrise.

On Sunday, after we enjoyed a very special Eucharist, had another delicious meal, and spent a little more time out on that rock enjoying great conversation, I spent my last few minutes alone on that rock, once again thanking God for the time he had allowed me to spend out there building relationships and marveling in all of the beautiful things I had never really taken the time to appreciate before. I feel certain that when spring rolls around, I will be enjoying the beauty of nature that I have for so long just ignored...I might even take a camping trip with the family and see if I can remember all of the things I used to love about that.