I have to remember that, and I haven't found a sharpie yet to write it on my name tag so I'm putting it here. From now on, whenever I introduce myself to a member of the Great Banquet community, that's how I do it. And then everyone applauds. No, I'm not kidding.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Great Banquet, it's a 72 hour experience where you are pushed to grow closer in your relationship with Christ. It's not a retreat, it's not a mission, it's an experience. We arrive Thursday evening and leave Sunday evening-yes, friends, that's right. I spent 72 hours "locked" in a church with many other women. Granted, there were other things going on, but we had our own schedule to stick to. Did I mention that they covered the clocks and we weren't allowed to have watches or cell phones? So, no communication with the outside world and no clue on the time.
I loved every single minute of it. I would love to go into the details about why I loved it so much, but I can't. It's part of the experience, and if anyone were to ever go through it, I wouldn't want to ruin it for you. I admit I was nervous when I went in, but luckily my sponsors-and second family-were there with me. Still didn't ease my nervous-ness. But on Sunday as we were wrapping up-as most sisters in Christ do-we ended with hugs. As I hugged each of my sisters, almost every single one of them told me that they loved my energy. A few asked if they could have some of it, haha. Simply put, I had an amazing time. I made some amazing new friends, and I pray that we will be able to serve together on a future Great Banquet weekend.
Okay, so I picked up a few things from this weekend experience:
Be still and know that I am God.
God does not call the equipped, he equips the called.
If I can make the time to watch my favorite TV show or be on facebook, I can make the time for God in my daily life. And it's become very apparent that I need to.
As much as I don't want to admit it, I cannot be the spiritual leader for my future family. It's not my position. It's my man's job. And the only things I can do to help him is love and encourage. That's it. Everything else is between him and God. (Let me tell you, this one is a struggle for me. But I know that I need this rock in my life, and I know that my future children will need it too.)
I have struggled with prayer in my life since I opened my heart to God. But something that was said this weekend helped ease that struggle a little. "Even when we don't have the right words to say, God knows."
My relationship with God-yes, I have a relationship with the Lord-takes effort. Just like any other relationship. I may not be perfect, but I can count on Him to always be there for me. I can trust Him to always love me, no matter what. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less, and nothing you can do to make Him love you more. His love is everlasting.
I could go on and on about things I learned over the weekend-but I won't. I won't because I don't want to give anything away! One thing I can share with you though, is that I thoroughly believe that coincidences do not exist. I have been in this train of thought since about March or so. This weekend absolutely confirmed it. I know that God brought my man into my life at exactly the right moment. I know that if he and I had met any sooner, I don't think we would be together. I think, as much as I hate to admit it, would have completely ignored him. But that is not the case, so I need not worry about it. I have the perfect man in my life, and most importantly, I have God in my life.
The best thing about having God in my life is knowing that He will always be with me. No matter what.
Until next time, dear readers.
Philippians 4:13
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