Greetings OCC!
I hope you are well and having a good week! I am glad to be on this side of last weekend. I had the privilege of being the speaker for a second year in a row at the Mother/Daughter Retreat at Pilgrim Pines. Ironic, I know, seeing as I have no daughters. Doesn’t seem to matter. God was good and many of the women were able to share on Sunday how God had been working in them throughout the weekend. Praise God!
Still, it was sad to be away after such an incredible Fun Day on Thursday and knowing I would miss Leyla’s celebration Sunday. Still, I’m glad you all had a good time celebrating!
The theme of the Mother/Daughter retreat was “God is in Your Story.” There is a new song by Big Daddy Weave and Katy Nichole with that title and we leaned into the lyrics. On Saturday night we talked about “Writer’s Block,” or those things that stall our stories. Included in the discussion were false narratives, broken places and grief. We reminded ourselves that false narratives are lies that are spoken by people and ads that usually want something from us (often money). We remembered that broken places are holy ground where Jesus is close by and that grief is holy too. Grief needs time and care before it can release us enough to start writing something new.
The summary was, and I’ll share it with you: God is in your story. No one lives life as expected and the highs and lows are part of every character’s life (we used Moses as a biblical example). God cares about you and your story (life). God is with you in the highs and lows.
The same is true for us as a church. God is in our story. God cares about us and God is with us in our highs and lows. Perhaps it’s also true that the places that seem broken and carry grief are also holy?
Lord, be with us as we journey with You as Your church. Can’t wait to see what is on the next page!
With love and blessings,
Pastor Karen
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