Month: November 2020

Being on retreat for the last 8-days have been a wonderful gift given to my by my wife. Thank-you. This has been a time of rest and renewal for me. Never have I taken so much time to simply be with God. To be with Him in prayer and to be with Him in his creation. Hours spent listening for that “still small voice”; then delighting when I heard it. It was these quiet whispers that allowed me to make my retreat.

This was just what my soul had been longing for. It was what I have been desiring. I could quire easily settle in for another 8-days but the world is calling me home. Back to my wife, my job, my own hermitage. I have now been refreshed by God and now the tide is beginning to fall. I can now give back to those I encounter and help them feel God’s presence.

What am I bringing home with me? Delight! Knowing that God delights in me and I can delight in Him and His creation. I am also trying on a new rhythm. I am not quite sure what it will exactly be but it is a work in progress. And then there is the mystery.

Part of what I experience I have no words with which to describe it. I have had this experience once before and it led into an extended time of consolation (Ignatian term for moving towards God) that I cherished. I am anticipating this again. This is the lasting gift of retreat.

I look forward to continue unpacking my retreat in the coming days, week, and months. I think this Unknown Pilgrimage is going to last a while. Blessing to you that have come along my retreat with me. Please reach out with question, comments or if you would like to take a deeper dive into contemplative Christianity.

In my wanderings over the last few days I have come across a couple of cairns. Cairns are simply a man made pile of rocks that can serve a variety of purposes. When I’m hiking around Bass Lake north of Ely, MN cairns mark some of the trail as it runs across a rocky ridge line. Cairns might mark a boundary or they might serve as a reminder. The Israelites picked up and piles stones as a reminder of what God did for them that day.

I’m not sure of the original purpose of either cairn I discovered. I’m pretty sure was was simply a creative expression with the rocks being stacked on a piece of driftwood along the beach.

The other though I think was away for people to say I was here as they added to the stack. At least that is what I was thinking as I place yet another stone atop the pile.

I have a cairn outside the door to my hermitage at home that I created as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to me and my family. We (my family) all placed stones as a way to remember.

As I thought about these stone cairns my mind began to think about some of the spiritual cairns in my life. Those places or events or people that were key to me becoming the person I am today. Ely Minnesota. Havre Montana. Jim Duncan. Greg Bourgond. Sam Rima. Wil Hernandez. So mountain cabin east of Los Angels. Holden Village. Pacem in Terris. Eastern Point Retreat House. My wife. My own hermitage.

The place are where I have encountered God in ways beyond the ordinary. The people are those who have shaped, guided, mentored, and encouraged me. All these people and places are my spiritual cairns. They are reminders of where I have encounter God in deep, intimate ways.

One rhythm that I have keyed in on while on retreat is that of the tides. Twice a day the tides come in covering a rock ledge that juts out into the cove, hiding its danger to passing boats but at the same time renewing the aquatic life that finds refuge in the rocks.

As the tide recedes the rocks are once again exposed, alerting passing boat of its presence but also exposing the aquatic life living on them to birds who gather to feast.

And then there are the seals. They find solitary refuge on the boulders exposed by low tide. They can safely lay on these exposed islands basking in the new days sun. I delight in watching them just sitting there, soaking in the sun’s warmth, resting before they set out to sea as the tide rolls in.

I wonder at time if my life is not like the rocks and the seals, with God being the tide. At times God washes over me, overwhelming me with His love, grace, and delight. I am hidden from my enemies and my life is renewed. It is during this time that I am prepared to face another day doing what God has created me to do.

After this time of resting the tide begins to recede and I am back in the world, exposed. I am ready to give because I have been replenished. I have the ability to minister and do life. But I do have to be aware that my enemies can see me. I am alert but at the same time I am free to do what God is calling me to do and being who God created me to be.

What about the seals? The seals are my delight. They know when to “BE” and the know when to “DO.” They never seem to take themselves too seriously.