About a month ago i was scheduled to do a women’s retreat in Mount Pocono, PA. \u00a0It was a group I had done retreats for a few other times. \u00a0I was looking forward to the experience, as is true of every retreat or workshop experience I contract to do. Leading a group of \u00a0women who are hungry for continued spiritual growth is what my calling is all about I believe. \u00a0I love the interactions with the women. \u00a0I love preparing my presentations, and I love making them. \u00a0Speaking and writing simply make my heart sing with joy.<\/p>\n
And I am fortunate to be invited to do programs that include men too. \u00a0My life is blessed every time an invitation to lead a program is offered to me. \u00a0But the point of this post is to share the surprising experience I had when contemplating the Mount Pocono program. \u00a0I contracted pneumonia the weekend prior to my scheduled departure; and for the first time ever I had to cancel a program. \u00a0Making the call to the coordinator wasn’t easy. \u00a0I knew it would put her in an awful position. \u00a0Everything had been set for the program. \u00a0The materials had been assembled. \u00a0The money had been collected. \u00a0The meals planned. \u00a0And then I called with the very bad news. \u00a0Karen, the coordinator, was stunned into silence initially. \u00a0And then a new door opened. \u00a0“Do you Skype?” she asked. \u00a0My reply wasn’t music to her ears. \u00a0“No. \u00a0But I will try to learn.”<\/p>\n
Thank goodness a sister-in-law came to my aid. \u00a0I called Karen and said, “I am good to go.” \u00a0I was pretty ill with pneumonia but by week’s end, I was able to put the programs together so that I could do all four presentations by Skype. \u00a0I was thrilled. \u00a0Karen, the coordinator was thrilled. \u00a0And the nearly 100 women at the retreat were thrilled. \u00a0The reason I share this here is to stress that we are generally always capable of doing more than we ever thought possible. \u00a0Additionally, there is always a silver lining in every “supposed set-back.”<\/p>\n
For years I have said that every experience, no matter how dire it first appears to be, is an opportunity for growth we didn’t even know we were ready for. \u00a0Learning a new tool like Skyping is truly a gift for a person in my line of work. \u00a0I’m not sure I will offer other programs by Skype in the future, but I could. \u00a0And that’s the blessing.<\/p>\n
Any time you feel like you are faced with a set-back, think again. \u00a0It is simply a new door opening that you didn’t know had your name on it. \u00a0Our lives are planned to the “T,” and the people we are meant to share every avenue of our journey with is scheduled to make their entrance at the perfect time. \u00a0This will always be true for us. \u00a0Always. \u00a0So in closing I want to say, move toward every situation that beckons, regardless of whether you think you can handle it or not. \u00a0If it has beckoned, you can! \u00a0You can. \u00a0Never doubt what the God of your understanding can ready you to do.<\/p>\n
If a door opens, walk through it. \u00a0It’s on your program for this life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
About a month ago i was scheduled to do a women’s retreat in Mount Pocono, PA. \u00a0It was a group I had done retreats for a few other times. \u00a0I was looking forward to the experience, as is true of every retreat or workshop experience I contract to do. Leading a group of \u00a0women who […]<\/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":[10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself","category-what-i-believe-you-and-your-higher-power"],"yoast_head":"\n