Sweet Silence

Hello dear readers,

I sometimes sit here and wonder how many of you are out there? Twenty, maybe twenty-one? But then one of two things happen... either I get depressed thinking there might be only five people who read my blog. Or I get terrified thinking there might be hundreds of people I don't know reading my blog, and that now know all of these personal things about me. Ridiculous, I know, which is why I've stopped thinking about it. So, I'm just going to pretend we're all close friends and we're sitting down for a cup of coffee...

Do you want to know what happened last week? Good, because I'm going to tell you anyways. This conversation is going to be one-sided. If you want to share what you did last week, you'll have to go start your own blog. This one has my name on it ;)

Charlie

Spring has finally sprung! The world outside is starting to turn several shades of green. I attempt to take a walk every day. I wander the neighborhood that surrounds the dormitory where I live. I live on the side of a hill so I get a good workout walking up and down the streets. On one of my walks a couple of weeks ago, I met a new friend. He's a beautiful dog that I've named Charlie. As I walked by his house, he jumped up next to the gate wagging his tail. I stopped and tried petting his furry back through the holes in the gate. He got excited and started nipping at my fingers playfully. As I began to walk away he started barking in disappointment. I walked back, gave hime one last pat on the head and promised to visit another day. However, the next time I walked by Charlie was accompanied by another dog that looked just like him. This new friend was not very friendly. He started barking at me as soon as I came close to the gate. I decided he wouldn't get a name until he becomes a little nicer. We are still working things out.

Pilgrimage Church of St. John

Just in case you are beginning to worry that my only friends are animals I meet on the street, I have made a lot of human friends too. I got to spend a lot of time with them this weekend at a retreat In-Life held for the believers in the cities of Brno and Prague. We stayed at a facility in the "Highlands" about an hour North of Brno. There is some beautiful country up there! We took a short walk to an old, beautiful church that sat on a hill overlooking the town. It was rainy that day, but the church and it's views were still breathtaking. The church is one of 192 sites protected and preserved by UNESCO. If you don't know what that is, go look it up.

The retreat was spent in sweet fellowship with fellow believers. The time was refreshing and re-energizing. I met new people, and got to know others better. I think the most significant thing I walked away with was a deeper understanding of time spent with God. Let me explain...

In the past, my understanding of time spent with God was always active. I pray, work through different issues in my life, and read my Bible. These things aren't wrong, and I definitely should be doing them. But I learned this weekend that time can be spent with God I'm complete silence; no words, no thoughts, no sounds. Just time spent recognizing God is present. God and I went for a peaceful walk together on Friday night. As I stumbled throughout the dark I found a path that ran next to the river which flowed through town. We walked up and down the path just appreciating each other's company. We found a bridge that crossed the river, and we sat watching a flock of ducks settle into their nests for the night. It was an amazing time that brought me closer to the One I love. I didn't have to be pouring out my heart, or learning a new truth from His Word. I was just there with Him enjoying the cold beauty of the evening.

The rest of the weekend was just as impactful. We learned how to better communicate with God. I think this helped in teaching us how then to better communicate with others. I was sad to see the weekend end. But a friend wisely told me it's better for a thing to end with you wanting for more than for it to overstay its welcome.

I want to leave you with this same feeling as I end this post. It is over for now, but more is coming...