40 hours of silence

This past weekend I ventured off to a beautiful retreat center in the mountains on a 40-hour silent retreat. The experience was as communal as it was about solitude, which made for an interesting weekend. We ate together...in silence. We hiked together...in silence. I even played speed UNO and scattergories with some friends...in silence! Who knew you could do so much without words? Of course, the retreat was not about being together as much as it was about taking time away to silence our minds and hearts to listen for the still, small voice of God. On Saturday morning we spent 3 hours in solitude, just ourselves and God. Daunting for some and a welcome respite for others, I believe I can speak for most of us that it was a profound and exceptional time.



Part of my time of solitude was spent in the Labyrinth. You can't see it too well, but in the picture below, in the bottom left, there are some people within the labyrinth that has been made with rocks outlining the path. Above is a picture from Chartres Cathedral in Paris, which the labyrinth below is modeled after. It is a prayer-tool that has been used for hundreds of years to depict a pilgrimmage to God. One takes their time following the path - sometimes coming quite close to the middle and at others finding themselves to be quite far away again, yet always farther along the path than when they first began. I had never walked through a labyrinth before and wondered how it could be beneficial. As I took the time on Saturday, I found the journey to the center to be a rich time of stripping the layers of anxieties, responsibility, and burdens off and giving them over to Christ. When I began my mind was so distracted and overflowing with scattered thoughts - when I reached the middle, my mind was centered, my heart was light and I was ready to spend time at the center of my God's affection. For that is where I found myself to be - in His loving gaze. I don't have many words to describe my connection to God at the center...but it was deep and intimate and transforming. Why...well I'm not sure I can explain it, but it was! I spent a chunk of my time there, just sitting in His Presence. Then I returned from whence I came, pondering how different the journey out was from the journey in - so much more focused and relaxed and joy-full.

I share all of this because it was profound for me and I've come away from this experience acknowledging my need to slow down more and seek my Lord along the journey.