By Anjanette Mensa
Having been a part of the early planning stages of this retreat has made it somewhat difficult for me to step back and really reflect on the retreat and its effects on me. My hopes and expectations are so intricately wound with the actual experience…it’s hard to separate the two. My most profound blessing actually came before the retreat even began. It happened in my living room.
I purchased the water bottles that we gave as hospitality gifts more than two months ago. Stepping out in faith that anyone besides Natalie, Jessica and myself would even attend, I bought 60 bottles. The amount seemed huge. I figured we could just return the ones we didn’t use. We opened registration and women began signing up. We quickly began nearing 60 registrations and I went out and purchased more bottles. I figured that we couldn’t possibly hit 100, so I bought 99. (It seems that motherhood has muddled my ability to do basic arithmetic and I actually only bought 93. Sigh.)
A few days before the retreat I set to unpacking all of those bottles. They had been neatly stored, in their boxes, in my garage. Once unpacked, sitting on my coffee table, I was completely overwhelmed. I burst into tears. I took a picture and sent in to Natalie and Jessica with the hope that they would understand the complexity of feelings I was having. Here, on my coffee table, was a tangible picture of each women coming to the retreat. I, in my little faith, hoped that God would bring us at least 50 women. He, in His infinite grace and goodness, brought us almost double that number. Each bottle represented an actual living, breathing person who, stepping out in faith herself, was committing a weekend to seeking out God and a better understanding of Him.
Some people may not have seen those water bottles the same way I did. People kept thanking me for writing their name on the bottle, for the time spent in baking and preparing. The truth is, writing those names, preparing those bottles was a gift to me. As I checked the spelling, chose the color, bagged the cookies, wrote the name, I said a prayer for each woman. In that time I was able to express my thanks to God for each life and each sister in faith. I was overwhelmed with God’s love for me…that He would give ”the least of these”– me, such a rich and diverse sisterhood–women who were willing to set aside their lives and make time to come together, united in Him, to worship.
I know how hard it is for women to get away. I know that sacrifices were made, loose ends tied up, and many details were thought through before so many ladies could leave their normal lives and head up the mountain to meet God. It was hard for me, too. However the benefits, by far, outweighed the hardships. I saw His love poured out on the hurting, I heard His testimony on the lips of other women and I saw His sacrifice made evident in the hope of so many.So really, this letter is a very large thank you note to all of the women who came. To all of you who stepped out of your comfort zone and braved the wilderness of unknown that a retreat can be, thank you. My life is changed for the better because of you and the knowledge of what we share in Christ
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus..It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:3-11
That was beautiful.