What is the value of a silent retreat? I personally feel that this is worth much prayer and contemplation, as I have come to realize that the invitation to attend a silent retreat comes from Christ alone. Christ wants each of us to live in a close friendship with him. He knows, that most of us are busy women, struggling to maintain our daily routines of caring for our family, working and managing our home, while attempting to balance a good prayer life as well.
Once we acknowledge that the invitation comes from Christ, we understand that there will be challenges. Why? Well, lest we forget that Satan doesn’t want us to get closer to Christ, in fact he wants us women to be busy, tired and stressed out, this way we cannot nurture the friendship that Christ is calling us to have with him.
I am not trying to dismiss or minimize some very valid reasons for not attending retreats. However, I sense Christ is asking us, to truly examine our reasons or excuses for not attending. This must be done in a spirit of prayer. While it is true that Satan will provide us with many excuses not to attend, acknowledge that at first glance the excuses will be masked to appear as very valid reasons. I implore you to also recognize that Christ at times allows these challenges, in order to provide us an opportunity to show Him how much we love Him. Saying to us, “What extent are you willing to go to? I died on the cross for you? I am waiting for you, so that I can bring you through to the joy of the resurrection. Come to me.”
At times we put God on the spot. We see obstacles to our availability to attend the retreat and we say to God, “If you really want me to go, get rid of the obstacles for me.” Depending on His will, this may be enough and he would in fact get rid of the obstacles for you, however, I have learned that even though Christ can do it all on his own, he depends on us to do our part. Just like Mark 6:33-44 teaches us, when the disciples approached him and told him of the dilemma, it was late, the people needed to eat and they should send them away, Christ says “ you feed them” then he takes their little food, five loaves of bread and two fish and he multiplies them into enough food for five thousand.
This is what Christ is waiting to do with our little effort to overcome the obstacles preventing us from saying “yes” to Him. I ask you “What extent are you willing to go to?” Can you say “NO” to Christ?
Image: The Feeding of the Five Thousand by Ambrosius Francken the Elder
