retreat x 2

Kelly is going on a women’s retreat this weekend, from Friday night through Sunday afternoon. I think it will be really good for her to get away for a couple of days and just spend it with a group of women. My prayer (and I ask yours for her) is that this is a good time of fellowship with the other women and more importantly with her Father-a focused time without all the other distractions that are usually present around here, a time of spiritual refreshment. It is something that a lot of us do not typically do but should. Christ often took periodical breaks from life/ministry to seek rest and refreshment. How often do we really do that? And how much more do we need it! If Christ needed it, we certainly do. But we allow life to get in the way. It just goes to show how messed up our priorities are, at least mine are. It’s work-hard work to plan those times of retreat, especially when you have kids. But the reality is it is just as important, if not more, to find the time (when you have kids).
The second retreat is the next Friday, for a week. Kelly and I are taking our first vacation alone. Kelly feels like she needs to justify it somehow but the reality is she doesn’t. We need some time alone, away from everything and everyone. Some time just to focus on each other. Everything has just kind of fallen in place for it. I don’t have to take off work because I don’t have a job. We got a great deal on an all inclusive package, so no worries there. And Kelly’s sister is going to come up from Chicago to stay with the kids. We are both REALLY excited for this trip. The two of us alone! Wow! I am sure there are some that see that and say “that’s dangerous” :-) and maybe it is. Just the thought of sitting on the beach with my wife enjoying the sunshine, walking the beach holding hands puts a smile on my face. Yea, I am kind of a sap, I know. But it is those kinds of memories I long for. There will be a time when it is just us but that time is a few years off and I don’t want to wait for that. We have not had the chance to focus on us and our marriage and for the sake of the family that is the most important thing. With everything we have gone through the last couple of years we have grown closer in some areas and in others we have gone apart. This is an opportunity to get back closer to the same page. That is my prayer for our time away.