Author: Scott Strand

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Unknown Pilgrimage #9 – Tides

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.

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Unknown Pilgrimage #8 – Being

There he came to a cave and lodged in it.
– 1 Kings 19:9a ESV

Elijah got to this cave on Mt Horab after traveling 40 days through the wilderness. Once at the mountain, he climbed up to the cave a waited. It’s been at least 40 days since Elijah last had an encounter with God, yet here he is waiting in a cave.

When I am on retreat there is also a lot of waiting. Today marks the fourth full day of retreat. I have never been on a retreat this long and I still have four days to go. I learned a long time ago you can’t rush a retreat. Retreat gives me the space to simply BE. God has shown up in the beauty of creation that surrounds this place. I caught the sunrise this morning, it was magnificent.

There are times when I find myself being distracted by all the beauty around me. But this is a delightful distraction. One that draws me closer to God. It is a distraction in that I forget to be and I do. I posted a couple of new YouTube videos on waves crashing and the sun rising (@scottastrand) and Instagram posts (@scottastrand). But the heart of retreat is being.

In my waiting I have been pondering three words: know, delight, and desire. To know and desire God are not new themes for me when on retreat. They seem to keep coming back over and over again. I use to wonder why this is but I have come to understand that by coming back to these words I can increase what I know about God and I can deepen my desire for God.

So what have I learned since getting here to Eastern Point? I know God a bit better now as I have been reminded that not only am I to delight in the Lord, but God also delights in me. This word delight is so wonderful. Just saying the delight brings a simple to my face. The question then arises is “How do I delight in the Lord?” As I shared earlier, I am delighting in the distractions I find around here. There are still a lot of trails to explore. Oh, I finally saw the seals in the cove this morning just sunning themselves on the rocks. My spiritual director and I decided that I need to be more like a seal while I am here. Just sitting on the rocks watching the tide roll away. They know how to just BE. See, delight in the things you find along the way.

And what about desire? I have written a lot about my desire for God. Last summer I wrote a very long paper about the inner workings of Scott and desire was a key part of that. While here, I finished reading Spiritual Wanderlust by Kelly Deutsch. In this book Deutsch talks about deep desires by sharing her own story and bringing in two Christian Mystics John of the Cross and Augustine. There were a lot of things I took from the book but the three that stood out to me include: 1) The idea we can know God better by loving and desiring him than by speaking or thinking about him, 2) “Desire is one of the greatest gifts we can give to another. It is the gift of receptivity.”, and 3) That longing (desire), darkness, I-don’t-know-what, echos, and consummation is all part of prayer.

Most importantly, I am learning who it is that God created me to be. I need to spend a bit more time waiting in my “cave” listening for that still small voiced of God.

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Unknown Pilgrimage #7 – EPRH Day 2

I sat most of yesterday with two questions: “What are you doing here?” and “What do you want me to do for you?”

So what am I doing here? That is, why Eastern Point Retreat House (EPRH)? I believe that EPRH is my metaphorical cave where I am meeting God. I liken it to the cave on Horab where Elijah encountered God, not in the wind (which we have had a lot for the last couple of days) or in the crashing ocean waves (my current context) but in God’s still small voice. The blessing of this retreat is silence and space. It is here away from the very day distractions of life that one can hear that still small voice of God.

The last seven months have been my wilderness wandering similar to Elijah’s 40 day wilderness trek from his encounter with the angel at the broom tree to the time he entered the cave and encountered God.

These are a lot of words to simply answer the question, I am here to encounter God in a way that I could not do anywhere else.

As I was sitting with my spiritual director this morning she asked me how I would answer my second question. I said that I would want Jesus to deepen my desire for a rich, full, intimate relationship with God. This is what Elijah got, God’s still small voice. Elijah had to lean in to embrace God up close, intimately. Whispers are just that, an intimate conversation between two people.

Desire is the word that I am sitting with now. I will share more about desire in my next post.