The Retreat

Retreat (verb).  a. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude. b. A period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, or study.

Both a. and b. rang true in this retreat. I could not have asked for a better culmination to 5 weeks of seeking and learning, of fellowship and growing, of discovering and building. There was simultaneously deeply personal finding and at the same time a bonding of a group united under one banner - Jesus. Time did not stand still, but rather it felt like every moment was fulfilled and purposeful, not one second of looking back. Because this was no ordinary retreat filled with ordinary people. LEADERS filled the hallways, LEADERS experienced God together, and LEADERS stood by one another in the two days in Kimgara Park.

I was inspired by the people around me, who had a fire burning in them, igniting everyone around them in so many ways. I was amazed at the willing hearts, who took in the Word and were hungry, so hungry for more and more. I was touched by the humble spirits all around me that strived for God's glory and not their own. Simply put, I was most excited because I could see that a whole new generation was born in that place. I was blessed by the abundance of examples to follow, of good influence, of wise words, of lessons learnt, of brothers and sisters I can count on, and I know, oh I know, that it all came from the simple fact that God was with us. Emmanuel. And He will be with every single one of us, beyond those two days, forever in us until the end of ends.

I guess it took 6 months in Melbourne for me to see how many times I've been messing up God's plans for my life. I need to realise that letting Him guide me, instead of trying to work more of me and less of Him at every step, would be the better option. To have the faith the size of a mustard seed, I wonder if I have that. One lesson that I learnt is that to flow down a river, you have to let go of whatever you're holding on to that is keeping you there.

I do not claim to come out of this a better person, if anything it has made me even more aware of what and where I am lacking in. But the joy is in that it has made me wiser, and that I am not alone in the race. And this race is different from any other, because in this race, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.