A Day Apart

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.

Colossians 2:7

This past Saturday, over 30 beautiful women gathered to experience an afternoon apart. An afternoon to worship, pray, journal, and create. An afternoon for rest & renewal. The concept was similar to my Date with God this past March at the Created for Care retreat.

The way that this day came together was a blessing from the start. It was such a wonderful experience to plan the day with four others that blessed it in every detail.  As more and more women registered and we prayed for their day, I felt a nervous excitement of what this experience could be for all those participating. We have already heard remarkable stories of how God blessed women this day. Women that heard from God through scripture, prayer, creating & silence.

Right before we were to begin, I started to feel those nervous butterflies. Was it because I hoped for those present to have a meaningful experience?  Or something else?

Once we began, I realized the butterflies were not just for the others attending. It was also for myself. I hoped to experience God the way I had in March. But there was too much noise in my head. How was it going for the others? What should I focus my prayer on? Why can't I quiet my mind? Mind, be quiet. you are here to experience a beautiful moment. BE QUIET.  I went through the first station, praying for my family, the community, the country and the world with little quiet, honestly with little prayer.

Next to the cross where others had laid down their prayers. As I began to pray for others, I thought,  OK, maybe this day is not about me, but how can I pray for others.

Next, to a color prayer. I have little artistic talent and in fact stayed away from the creating stations at the Date with God as much as possible. But because I couldn't quiet my mind, I thought I should try to create. The description was to write a word to describe God, doodle around it and then write other words that may come to mind. As I began to doodle, the names to write flowed out...Jimmy, Sarah Bess, Davis, Gabre and Hannah. Then to connect them all with each other and God. With multiple colors and doodles. At first I also wrote the word 'anything'.  (I have just begun a book by Jennie Allen, Anything, that begins with she and her husband making that prayer. "God, we will do anything."). But so much louder...I heard, EVERYTHING. So I wrote that. And I left feeling such love for those names written on my paper.

Next to the station to create a cover for our journals. The description is to pick patterns, words, scriptures that are speaking to you and decorate a cover for your journal. I just began to grab things I liked- a flower pattern, a beach scene, 5 or 6 scriptures that are familiar to me. A couple that were new, but I liked.

I sat down to create and as I looked through what I had brought to the table and asked the spirit to lead me to create, what to use was made so clear. A flower with 5 petals...I prayed over each of the 5 names I had written earlier; The word 'everything' on the back of a picture...I prayed, yes God everything. I don't know what that means, but yes;  A tree in the middle of my beach scene with the roots growing down in the water...I prayed, support our family as you do this tree, grow us and nurture us; and an unfamiliar scripture, "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him". And there it was. So clear. "God, let our family grow our roots in you. Let us offer you EVERYTHING as we build our lives on you".

I arrived home to my family, not yet ready to talk much about the experience but to get ready for our 'mother/daughter & father/son slumber party night'. I pulled out items from my retreat goody bag which included a book mark that  I had not yet seen. And the scripture on the bookmark...

Let your roots grow down into him,

Colossians 2:7