May 2024 -- Zion National Park
Firsts can be a bit nerve-wracking.
The first time traveling alone.
The first time leaving your kids.
The first time meeting new people.
Our May 2024 Active Abundance retreat was full of firsts.
The items listed above were firsts for several of the women on the retreat.
AND… it was the first-ever Active Abundance retreat.
When Lisa began planning this retreat, she wondered who would attend. Who would show up and help her? How was this going to flow?
She didn’t have all the answers when she booked the house. She didn’t have all the logistics worked out when she opened up the retreat on the website.
But she stepped out in faith and took the first step of obedience in her calling to help women through seasons of wilderness. She waited on God and heeded to the Holy Spirit.
The results…
God led 4 incredible women to sign up for the retreat.
He brought 2 volunteers to assist in hospitality and driving.
He provided a spirit-filled teacher to co-teach with Lisa.
But most of all, God himself was present.
Our five days together were nothing less than blessed.
We may have arrived at the airport as strangers with a text chain and a few Zoom calls to introduce ourselves. However, we left as friends who would forever be connected through the healing that began in our hearts at the retreat.
The agenda was thoughtfully crafted by Lisa who beautifully balanced our day with both group time and time alone with God. On paper, a typical day looked like this:
Breakfast
Teaching time
Lunch
Hike
Dinner
Worship and Teaching
But each moment was filled with more than what the simple agenda laid out.
Some of us encountered God as we hiked.
Some through conversations in the hot tub.
Some while sipping strawberry smoothies during solitude time.
We experienced community in a whole new level. We ate together, learned together, hiked together, shopped together, laughed together, cried together, prayed together, and have stuck together even now, months later.
God’s glory surrounded us in the spectacular mountainous views, in the peaks, in the valleys, in the sunrise, and in the crisp morning air. His glory was also seen in the hearts of the leaders, in their teachings, and in the eagerness of each woman there to draw closer to Him.
We came to the retreat in a wilderness season. And while we may return in the midst of the season, our hearts have been restored. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. We have found refuge in Him. And we know that when we abide in Him, He will do a work in our hearts and lives.
Those firsts may have seemed hard to overcome. But not as hard as it would have been to walk through the hard seasons alone.
Praying that you take the first step toward healing and experiencing God’s goodness firsthand.
