I come to you today reinvigorated in faith. Over the weekend, I went on a retreat with my school, and I had a really great experience. I’m not going to narrate the events to you, but I will share some thoughts and revelations that I found. This post won’t include all of the conclusive thoughts of this retreat, but I was compelled to write at least a little something.

The retreat leaders were very enthusiastic and very emotional, in a good way. Most of them were extraverts, and some of them were social introverts. I would definitely fall into the latter category. Of course, I knew going into this retreat that this weekend would require me to interact and be open with people, which I genuinely have no problem with. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fairly trusting, agreeable, and kind person. So, there was no problem with the trust-thing. My biggest struggle was that I feel absolutely drained by the end of the day because I do enjoy my alone time. So imagine what I was feeling by the end of the weekend! Everyone I met was so nice and fun to be around, and I really enjoyed my time, don’t get me wrong.

Anyway, the retreat provided me with a wonderful opportunity to think and reflect. I got to spend some quality time with God and lay my burdens down at His feet. All of the sorrow, heartache, pain, struggles, and even joy, were laid down in order to really think. The retreat was very pathos-inducing; it was supposed to be a very intense experience.

The most important revelation is absolutely cliché: I need to let go and let God. This pithy maxim is heard time and time again, but it is so necessary to hear and really believe. I try to control what goes on in my life, but at the end of the day, there is nothing I can do alone that will be of worth.

The second revelation is about how to actually pray. I was on the cusp of this revelation after the last retreat I was on…a retreat that I led. I had been thinking about St. Therese’s Little Way A LOT since that retreat, and I had been trying to incorporate that into my life.  The idea that you can put love into everything you do, no matter how small, is something that I find completely doable and profound. This retreat took it one step further. I have to DO a lot of things.Je dois faire beaucoup des choses. Such as scheduling, homework, writing papers, planning meetings, making appointments. The over-arching idea here is that the things I deal with- therefore the things I was putting love into- are material things. Non-living things.

This retreat fostered that what I was doing was undoubtedly heading in the right direction. This retreat introduced people to me. People! So simple an answer, yet such a confusing journey. Friendship is a difficult thing. It tries your patience, kindness, and fairness. It makes you lose faith in humanity. But these things are not the definition of a healthy friendship. Healthy friendships do not drain you or make you feel like you aren’t doing enough.

And I was not as drained as I thought I would be. I actually have hope that I will continue to stay in contact with these people because we have things in common and know about them in a certain capacity. Unlike past friendships that have fallen through, I just have a good feeling about these friendships.

I am not, by any means, a feelings-based person, but recently – and maybe this is a result of my getting older – positive things have happened because I went out on a good feeling. And it’s scary to take risks and do things without thinking. But that’s what letting go and letting God is all about.

As always, thank you so much for reading!

Love,