peaceful weekend

I had the best intentions of getting up early and taking a picture of the sunrise here at the Jersey Shore to share with all my bloggy friends. But, as it rose at 5:32 am I just about managed to get out of my oh so comfy bed, open the blinds of my window here at the retreat house and plop myself into the chair to watch the action myself. So, you'll just have to trust me that it was BEAUTIFUL!

This weekend of prayer, reflection, rest and fun has been just what I needed. Our theme has been "Walking in the Way to Peace." We have been blessed to have Sr. Carmel from our western province with us as our guide. We talked about what we need in our "backpacks" for our journey. My list included a sense of humor, patience, compassion, integrity, friends, willingness to risk, honesty, humility, freedom to make mistakes, and forgiveness. Carmel also shared with us about Jesus and Joseph as models of peace - that's worth a blog post of its own at a later date.

But for now, I'm going to put my laptop away, get a cup of coffee and sit with the big guy looking out at the ocean. Our retreat house on the shore is one of my favorite places. As someone said yesterday, it's a "God place." I want to make sure to take advantage of this luxurious opportunity to be here - especially since the weather is cooperating so nicely!

Peace,
Susan