Recientemente tuve la oportunidad de participar en un retiro para esposas de ministros y misioneros, nunca antes había vivido una experiencia como esta y tengo que decir que realmente cambio mi manera de sentir a Dios en mi vida.
Fue una semana lejos de mi esposo y de mi hijo. Inicialmente tuve dudas de dejarlos solos, incluso el día del viaje a Republica Dominicana, no estaba segura de irme.
Luego de haber pasado un par de días en casa de unos hermanos en Cristo, quienes nos hospedaron con tanto amor a 40 mujeres de diferentes Países. Llegamos a una pequeña población llamada Samana a 3 horas de la capital Santo Domingo, nos esperaba el comité organizador del evento 12 mujeres extraordinarias dispuestas a llevarnos atreves de esta aventura desconocida para mí.
El objetivo del retiro era descansar en la presencia de Dios. “vengan conmigo y descansen” (Marcos 6.31). La jornada empezó con una actividad llamada mi historia, muchas veces estamos tan ocupados viviendo nuestra vida, que no nos detenemos por un momento a pensar como se está escribiendo nuestra historia y el impacto que esta tiene en los demás. A partir de este punto nos centramos en identificar las cosas que nos separan de Dios esos grandes o pequeños obstáculos que nos impiden tener una relación más íntima con nuestro Padre. Todo esto de desarrollo durante unas charlas de orientación que fueron de mucha inspiración y un gran tiempo de silencio y soledad.
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I recently had the opportunity to participate in a retreat for the wives of ministers and missionaries. I never before had an experience like this and I have to say it really changed the way I experience God in my life. I was initially hesitant about being separated from my husband and my son, especially so because my husband would be left to care for my son who had recently become ill. Even on the day of my departure to the Dominican Republic, I was ready to cancel the trip. But I knew that I had to go and I am blessed because I did.
The purpose of the retreat was to find rest in God’s presence. “Come with me and rest” was the theme of this retreat from Mark 6:31 (NIV). The retreat began with an activity called “My story”. It was an activity calling us to self-reflection. Our lives are a story that is still being written. Often our lives are so busy that we do not stop to think how our lives are impacting the lives of others. After this time of reflection, we began to focus on identifying the things that separate us from God. Those obstacles, both big and small, get in the way of a more intimate relationship with our Father. All these exercises and other conversations were very inspiring. They created a great time of silence and solitude.
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Last November 28 was for me the first day of Thanksgiving. It was a very moving experience. In Colombia, the country where I grew up, by education or kindness we are grateful, but we don’t have the tradition of dedicating a day to give thanks for all the blessings that God gives to our lives. For 10 years I worked as an assistant nurse and I always felt proud of my work. It was very satisfying to know that I could help and be a blessing in the life of another person. During my work I constantly heard the word thanks. So that became commonplace without much significance. What I mean is that many times the appreciation is just a word from the daily routine, a gesture of education when we receive or when it’s been said without seeing such great meaning and power of this word. Let’s look at something.
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