7.10.2012

Retreat Notes: Delight & Wonder

I finished my retreat with a change of scenery, staying at the condo some friends own in the Columbia River Gorge.  This is the view of the sunset from their window.  Amazing!



Speaking of amazing, God's creative power is truly amazing.  Not only in the past, creating such incredible landscapes as the Columbia River Gorge, but daily.  From the simple meadow of flowers,

to the regular rhythm of our daily lives, God's saving action in our world continues. These are some of the thoughts that I reflected on during the last days of my retreat on some meditative walks through the bounty of God's creation.  I took lots of photos, but to be honest my camera wasn't quite able to capture the majesty of the beauty.  At one point I found myself asking in awe and wonder, "How did you create all of this?". A rhetorical question if ever there was one, but the answer it seems was not how but why.  And the why was perhaps the grace of this retreat for me:  Delight. God's delight in you, in me, in us, in all of creation! What a gift, to be invited to to stop, to listen, and to lean into that delight.

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a might savior,
Who will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
Who will sing joyfully because of you. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Amen. Alleluia. And so I end these quiet days refreshed in body, mind, soul and spirit, deeply grateful for my good, gracious, playful God.

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