RU2Busy4Me?

Last weekend, I attended a retreat on campus entitled, "RU2Busy4Me?" This was obviously a play on the fast paced texting language our society has developed. The retreat was held on campus over a 24 hour period. I was eager to participate in the retreat and get to see some friends I had not connected with in a while and to get into as some better habits during Lent, and I'm not just talking about drinking more water, swearing less, and eating less junk food (although those are also important too!).



This is not the first retreat I have attended, but I have to say it came at a great time! I had not truly dove into the Lenten season at the time or begun to reflect on the season. The retreat was a great way to get some time away from my crazy busy life to sit in silence to open my eyes, ears, and heart to God. The retreat focused on a life built around Sunday and taking time to keep God in our lives.

What if this was waiting for me after class or work?

Through a "grand silence" we were released at 11:45pm to return to our dorm rooms, apartments, etc. and return in the morning for the remainder of the retreat. Our "grand silence" challenged us to not speak until the morning, text, use computers, or watch tv.  Being on call and doing rounds at midnight and 2:30 AM would prove to be a bit of a challenge without any standard means of entertainment to keep me awake. Fortunate for me, a good friend of mine was also on call for another area of campus. We hulled ourselves up in a room with our bibles and cups of tea. While the both of us sat in silence praying and reading the Good Book,  we were directed to different readings. We sat in the silence reading and sharing (via dry erase board) the passages we had discovered. Through the course of two hours, we had been led to five separate passages pertaining directly to all we had covered in the retreat (forgiveness, Reconciliation,  prayer, listening to and spending time with God). This was one of the most mind boggling Friday evenings I have had in a long time. Bruce and I sat in awe of the passages we had read and the truths we were told during the retreat. At one point Bruce was frantically writing on the board and I stopped him to finish the statement.

God is SOOO great! He placed readings of great value literally into our hands and hearts at a time that we were most in need of them. This opened my eyes to the true preparation of Lent for Easter. There are so many days that I buzz through my life saying I will stop and pray later or I will pray when I go to bed.  Guess how many of those times I actually follow through with that 'promise'? How many times do I drop everything to run an errand or hang out with a friend, or surf  the internet? How can I say I am too busy to pray?! How can I say I will stop by the Chapel later when Jesus died for me? As I said, the retreat came at the perfect time for me (isn't it funny how things like that happen... good thing God's watching out for us, huh?). It truly helped me to re-prioritize my life and rearrange my hectic schedule to allow daily reflection and prayer.
So I say AMEN! I am also working on slowing down my life a little bit and allowing myself to have more times of silence and reflection. 

 Lord, 

Help us to slow down.

Help us to spend time with you daily

and to hear your words.

Help us to see the wonders of your hands

and to allow ourselves to be at peace with being in your stillness.

Thank you for the gift of each day you give us

and thank you also for not ever being too busy for us! 

Help us to respond to your message with: I'm not too busy.

Amen! 

Dreaming big and sending love,

Casey