Monday, September 8, 2008

"Wilderness"

I can't even begin to describe how great our "wilderness" getaway was. A group of 11 students and 7 adults spent some much needed time together. We learned so much about ourselves spiritually, mentally and physically. But the greatest thing that happened on this trip was the fact that we were in the "wilderness".

Now the reason I put wilderness in quotation marks is because supposedly we were in the wilderness for 3 days but I don't like to look at it like that. In my opinion, we were out of the wilderness. Away from a world of complete and total distraction. A world filled with media, technology, and comfort that only distracts one from the true purpose and meaning of life. The world that we currently live in is the true wilderness.

This trip provided a much needed perspective change not only for all the leaders but for our students as well. We realized just how much we take for granted in a world that demands more and how much we really "need" rather than "want".

Fear was the subject and topic for most of the lessons we taught and no doubt the experience accompanied with the lessons drove the point home that much more. Our students and leaders overcame a ton of fears. Some of the fears were physical and yet some of them were spiritual. All of them were personal.

This place was truly a blessing and at just the right time in all of our lives. Like one of the students said in our closing prayer, "it wouldn't have been the same if just one person wasn't there." Everyone who was there contributed in ways they don't even realize.

There were tears of joy and tears of fright. Cheers of victory and cheers of praise to a great and mighty God. All of our emotions were deeply felt because there were no distractions to deter our journey.

I was so impressed with the way Rebecca overcame her fears. She truly set the bar for everyone on this trip and even made me look bad when she tried an obstacle that I didn't even want to try! (Check out her blog by clicking the link above to read what she has to say).

The way everyone came together as a team just created an experience among Christian brothers and sisters that was much needed. Relying on each other in times or trial only grew our relationships that much more.

We really don't understand how great our God is until we get away from the "wilderness" and get back into an atmosphere of complete and utter surrender and dependence on God. So many times I feel like God is calling us to get away from the distractions and just give him time to be with us. He wants to grow us in ways that this "wilderness" we live in keeps us from doing. He wants to water us and feed us but we cover up that opportunity by taking away his access to us. And then we wonder why we don't grow in our walk. The answer to this problem was answered for me and a great bunch of leaders and students this weekend in the wilderness. A place where God did some amazing things!


(I'm going to unpack some things I've learned on this trip every day for the rest of the week. So keep an eye out for new posts.)


2 comments:

  1. WE SURVIVED!!!! This weekend left me with so much to reflect about as well - I know I'm truly changed from this experience!
    And man - the idea that we are more in the wilderness now than where we were at - what a truth!

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  2. Wow - Patrick's actually smiling! I KNOW you all had a great time.

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