Retreat and Renewal

Ahh... the joys of alliteration. I was once told (rightly so) that the first line of my paper was horrible. Ever since then, especially in my blogging, I have tried to make either my title or my first line have some sort of a hook. Most of the time I do not succeed - but at least I am aware of the importance of a first line.

This past weekend I journeyed up to New Hampshire, Lake Winnepasaukee (of the What about Bob? fame) to be exact. The Women's Resource Network was hosting a 24 hour women's retreat for the women connected with GCTS. As a woman connected with GCTS, I went. My hope in going was reconnect with God because it is so easy to lose him in the midst of theological study. Seems ironic, but it is so true. The tendency is to make God an object of study rather than the subject of our lives. This summer, prior to coming to GCTS, someone was asking me what I was doing this fall. I replied, "I'm going to seminary." They heard "cemetery." An honest mistake, but when I corrected them, they shrugged and said with a sly smile, "basically the same thing anyway." It does not have to be that way. Retreats like the one this weekend are designed to remind us to find ourselves in light of who God is and reorient our lives in his direction.

The verse that really stood out this weekend was Psalm 139:14a (perhaps it will sound familiar to many from the Mercy Me song.) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
It is so easy to see the light of God in others, but when we think about it - do we praise God for how he made us? We talk about people who bear the image of God, but do we ever include ourselves in that discussion? Not really. Often, when people focus on who they are, they focus on their sin and faults. Yes, we are sinners, but we are also justified creatures of God. As Martin Luther said, we are simultaneously sinners, yet justified. Genesis 1:26-27 says that God created humans in his image. That alone gives us value and worth. Not only does it give value and worth to your friends, your family, your enemies; it gives you value. It gives me value. If you don't think that you have been made in the image of God, just ask those around you. They will tell you how wonderful you are. I am sure they would not find it difficult to think of times where God has blessed them through your presence in their lives. Sometimes we just need to hear that. I know I do!

Transitioning a bit from the retreat, but not from the topic- 3 people from USF showed up in the North Shore this weekend. What a wonderful gift of God! Their presence just renewed my spirit. I admit that I've been in a bit of a scholastic slump - I was not motivated to do homework - I felt overwhelmed by theology. Seeing these girls again reminded me how much I loved theology in college and although it may be different here, it still has great value for me. I realize now that my path here was to learn to articulate the theology I already possess. My last months at USF were a struggle for me to articulate what I knew to be true. I find the particular challenges I face at GCTS are in part causing me to define and articulate what I believe. There are no doubt other reasons God has called me here, but I am grateful to be on this one reason.

One quick fun story. I took Kim and Dianna to Salem, Mass. on Sunday night. Considering how close it is to Halloween and Salem is like the Halloween capital of the world due to the witch trials how many centuries ago... it was a little crazy and perhaps even a little creepy. We did get to see some historical stuff and ran into a friend of mine who plays drums in a worship band that was part of a ministry designed specifically for Salem. Anyway - it was an adventure and I'm glad I could share it with those two - such awesome people!

On to much reading and studying. Since I basically took last week off, I have that much more to do this week. Ugh... procrastination!