Bill and I were greatly blessed through participating in retreats at Holy Name Retreat House on Chambers Island. Our first retreat was like a new beginning in our marriage, and a huge help for Bill especially as the business he had started was going under, and he didn’t know how to deal with this failure. Wise counsel from the spiritual director, Fr. Leon, helped give him clarity on the choices to be made, and to re-prioritize our lives.
Because we had been so blessed with this retreat, and subsequent ones, we wanted to encourage others to come to this holy ground and receive God’s grace there. The retreat house offered an evening for “recruiters,” and Bill and I signed up.
What I heard from the retreat house chaplain that evening has stayed with me, influenced a lot of what I’ve chosen to be involved in, and my attitude toward it. Fr. Ed spoke of the wedding at Cana, the first of Jesus’ miracles, and related it to our role as retreat house recruiters. We were the servants filling the jars with water, so that the Lord could touch them, and turn them into wine. Our job was just to get people to come; the rest was all in the hands of God.
Again and again I’m reminded of what my role is in building the Kingdom – and especially that I’m not God, and to trust Him to do what only He can do. This has led me to the joy of inviting people to participate in programs and events and to encourage them to be open to what the Lord wants to do in their lives. I’m to create a warm and welcoming environment, to offer encouragement, and often a ride in my car, to “come away” and experience God’s love for them. Not that He can’t love them right where they are, but it often seems that stepping into a different place, away from familiar distractions and duties, helps us to hear the Lord better, and to receive the gifts He has for us. To come to a place where faith is practiced and the atmosphere is holy certainly aids in our ability to hear the Lord.
This has also been relevant to my current call to minister as a spiritual director. I’ve been taught and believe that it’s not about me; it’s all God and what He wants to do in the lives of the people I’m blessed to walk with. Again my role is that of companion, walking together, offering encouragement and a safe place to share their stories. I pray to be able to bring many to the Kingdom, never to be an obstacle, but only a signpost to the Goodness of God…
Lord God, thank You for Fr. Ed’s words that have remained with me these many years. May Your water jars be filled to overflowing with souls that You may touch their hearts and set them on fire with love for You and for one another ~
Spiritual Sun Pennies 