I led a retreat this past week end at the Hazelden Renewal Center in MN. \u00a0The topic was Cultivating Hope In All Our Affairs. \u00a0Twenty-eight of us gathered and gently moved forward in our thinking, our personal explorations, our willingness to be intimately vulnerable and open to the vulnerabilities of others. \u00a0It was miraculous, really. \u00a0I have discovered that these kinds of week ends are always miraculous, in fact, because perceptions become changed. \u00a0You can see it happening. \u00a0You can feel the shift occurring. \u00a0And you can see the body language relaxing, as participants settle into their willingness to help others heal as they, in turn, heal too.<\/p>\n
Every gathering can serve as a blessing. \u00a0Every gathering<\/strong>. \u00a0Even those we dread. \u00a0Perhaps those are the ones that bless us the most, in fact. \u00a0Perhaps we may not see it at first. \u00a0We may deny it. \u00a0But we are always being “called to” the gathering we find ourselves in. \u00a0Trusting that there is a reason for our presence lessens our resistance.<\/p>\n Deciding to believe that “this we experience now has been selected on our behalf,” offers us comfort and relief. \u00a0We will never be lead to a place where the God of our understanding hasn’t also come. \u00a0Look around at your next gathering and be grateful for “the invitation.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I led a retreat this past week end at the Hazelden Renewal Center in MN. \u00a0The topic was Cultivating Hope In All Our Affairs. \u00a0Twenty-eight of us gathered and gently moved forward in our thinking, our personal explorations, our willingness to be intimately vulnerable and open to the vulnerabilities of others. \u00a0It was miraculous, really. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[89,131,179,213,214],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself","tag-gathering","tag-learning-from-others","tag-relationships","tag-vulnerability","tag-we-are-where-we-need-to-be"],"yoast_head":"\n