It always amazes me how much even one night with Christian sisters refreshes, nourishes, relaxes and recharges.  Who would think all that could take place in a mere 24 hours?  It really can.  This year our retreat took place at one of our ladies’ grandparent’s cabin in northern Minnesota.  It was about a 5 hour drive, and the drive was part of the fun as well.  I rode up with two friends and tried to use some of my listening devices to be able to hear them (they were in front seat and I in back – I chose this arrangement thinking it might work best with microphones).  It enabled me to hear that they were talking and to understand some of it, but it also amplified the road noise a lot and didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped.  Ultimately, I put it away and just relaxed for much of the drive.  Being in the back seat by myself enabled me to put my feet up when I felt the need which helps keep them comfortable and helps avoid some swelling.  We arrived at the cabin not having any idea what to expect.  It turned out to be a beautiful house up in the Northwoods.  There was a swing outside that I loved!  There were enough beds for each of us to have our own – sheets and pillows were already there.  There was a nice kitchen and 2 living areas and even a hot tub!  Everything was very laid back and that was really nice.  There were 13 of us who attended this year.  We arrived at different times and just hung out and visited at first.  The swing outside was calling my name so I went out there and a friend joined me.  We sat and talked for nearly 2 hours!  I could actually hear just fine one-on-one in a quiet environment, so it was really great to catch up with each other.  It’s much more difficult to talk to someone in church or a restaurant for me.  When we went back inside we all visited and eventually we built a bonfire and went out and had hotdogs, grilled cheese, and s’mores and fruit pies for dessert.  I must say, I’ve always been more of a traditionalist with bonfire food and had never heard of making grilled cheese on a campfire or using bread and pie filling for pies (made the same way) or even using Reese’s pieces in s’mores!  I didn’t try all of it, but what I did was really good!  We all enjoyed hanging out by the fire, then we went inside and had a devotional.  It was really great to wind down the day sharing spiritual thoughts with each other.  Some got ready for bed after that and some went and got in the hot tub.  I wasn’t sure if I should use the hot tub with my  health issues at this point, so I didn’t.  I got into bed and read for a bit.  One perk of my hearing situation:  once I take out my hearing aid, no noise bothers me at all!  There were babies sleeping in the room next to me and the hot tub was right outside a glass door from my room and I heard nothing!  I slept well (had a king sized bed to myself – wow!) and the next morning got cleaned up and more visiting time!  A friend brought a wonderful expresso machine and made me great coffee to start the day!  How awesome is that? We spent a lot more time visiting with each other and gradually everyone got cleaned up.  We had a wonderful brunch together, then two devotional lessons.  All of our devotionals led to wonderful discussion and by the end of the morning we all felt closer to each and had a deeper love and appreciation for our God and His creation and the ties through Him that bind us together.  After that, we helped clean up and headed out.  It sounds like we didn’t do much, but that was kind of the point.  We all took some time off from the busy lives we lead to stop, focus our attention on our sisters in Christ and nurturing those relationships and to focus together on God and our love for him.  It accomplished all we would want it to – we left feeling closer to each other and feeling loved and full of love; feeling rested and renewed, and we left with a renewed appreciation for our heavenly Father and the amazing way He gave us each other and so much support and encouragement and love through His church. it was a great retreat indeed…