Retreats let us step away so that we can better step back into whatever reality—whatever challenges—we find ourselves facing.
And while we’re all too well aware of the pronounced challenges pressing in on us right now, there is some consolation in knowing the Frio River Canyon and the cycles of the season go on unchanged.
The Great Hall, the Dining Room, guest rooms, the Cody Center—all of these places are where they were, still and silent. The bluff across the river looms as ever. The wildflowers are beginning to bloom in their time.
We all find ourselves venturing back to these scenes in our minds’ eyes.
It is good to remember.
Our conjured memories of the Lodge are important and can actually be the means of realizing a new moment of stillness and solace in the present.
Maybe today you can find some time to be still. You might even close your eyes and imagine your way here. Maybe you’re sitting in a rocking chair on the Library deck. You have a mug of tea. Since it’s spring, maybe the cliff swallows are building nests overhead.
A moment of retreat.
For today, let’s appreciate the imaginative power of place. And in the momentary silence, let’s pray for the daily grace to practice returning and rest; quietness and trust.
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
