What do the dance party of the year and a squirrel have in common?
In the last two weeks of February, I experienced two extraordinary trips. First, when the (lady) Fellows went on Apostle’s women’s retreat, and then, the following weekend, when (all) Fellows traveled to St. Francis Prayer Center for the program’s yearly silent retreat.
These back-to-back weekend retreats felt so wildly different from one another. At the Women’s Retreat, I learned what it means to be content alongside many women of different ages and life experiences. It was an inter-generational opportunity where women could come together, glean from one another, and cherish each other’s unique perspectives. It was a space of encouragement, of Christ’s freedom, and a ground where the women of Apostles could feel deeply seen and heard. It was a weekend of laughter, playfulness, questioning, growth, and outrageous dancing.
The following weekend, as we walked into the atmosphere of St. Francis, it was like time was held still just for us. There was peace and deep-rooted and faithful prayer in every corner of the campus, and the Holy Spirit lingered. For the first time in my life, I stopped. I stopped talking, hurrying, doing, and producing, and instead, I just let out a long-held breath that had been bubbling inside me.
One weekend, I was dancing my heart out in a silent disco and sweating through my clothing from how hard I was shredding moves. The next, I sat in solitude on a bench with nothing else to do but watch the squirrels pass by, yet the Lord was deeply present with me in both experiences.
So, what do the dance party of the year and a squirrel have in common?
Holy Silence.
What I love about Jesus is that he is a God who loves us, and He likes us. He smiles and cherishes when we have a child-like playfulness, dancing crazily for His kingdom in a silent disco. But also, he gently refines our hearts and teaches us about the fullness of His presence when we sit in His presence through our silence and solitude.
In these moments of reflection, I am reminded of how Jesus is in every corner of our lives—in the crazy and the quiet, in the big and the small. He is a God who has enough time for us and can see the depth of our sin and brokenness, yet he always chooses to stay by our sides. How grateful I am for a friend like Jesus!
I am ready to keep on dancing with Him.
Love, Linda May