Before I left for the retreat I was reading in Hebrews chapter 11 and the following verses were my prayer for this past weekend:
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:19-25
My heart was so blessed to see that prayer answered! Hope in Jesus was so very evident on the faces of the ladies this weekend and, as a result, we were able to encourage one another. Pain is real, trials are real, hurt is real...but we can have an unwavering hope IN the Lord that leads to joy and an ability to stir up one another to love and good works!
The diversity of the group was just amazing...from college gals to great-grandmas, with "homelands" that span the globe and interests and hobbies that differ greatly. Women who had been going to Cloverdale for over 30 years and women who had been at the church less than 6 months. Yet, at any point, you could have looked around and saw all of the above mingling together, sitting next to each other, talking, laughing, praying or hugging because we had one thing...one relationship...in common that placed us in the same beautiful family and united our hearts with the same amazing love....our relationship with Jesus Christ.
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
One prayer of mine coming off of the retreat is that God would use this past weekend to grow more "Titus 2" relationships. That the sweet unity that was so evident on the retreat would "wiggle it's way" into the fabric of our everyday lives and that we all, as women, would just bless the socks off each other as we continue to "have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind" with and for each other!(1 Peter 3:8)
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" Psalm 133:1
P.S. Anyone have some pictures I can add to the blog?:)
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