SoulCare Retreat Recap

The retreat was wonderful. Friday night we kicked off the evening with lively singing by 35 women (led by me), followed by a great dinner. I was seated at a table with some new and old faces, but everyone was just wonderful to talk to. The topic for Friday evening was "Finding Your Voice" and I came away from that thinking about my own reticence to say what I think.

Saturday morning we also had a great time of singing and then I was part of a panel (yeah, I was doing double duty....) of pastor's wives. One was close to retirement, one was 15 years in, and then there was me, with a whole year under my belt. Even though I wasn't sure what I could contribute, people gave me really encouraging comments afterwards about what I had shared. The questions centered around how the ministry had affected our marriage and our kids. I shared about the patterns Ben and I have tried to set up in our life this year (limit social events on Sundays, make sure congregants use the cell and not the home phone, take a day off and stick to it, use a daily connecting time - for us it is lunch, etc.). I couldn't share much about how it has affected Isabelle, but I did share my ideas and hopes for helping to make Sundays special for her, and how we try to be organized so as not to create more chaos on Sunday morning.

In the afternoon we had someone come in to talk about assertiveness. Let's just say it was a great presentation, not only to remind me of good habits for myself, but how to think and react when people don't communicate well. We closed with more great singing and with Carol giving us a blessing. Ben had a wonderful day with Isabelle, and I was so glad to see her at the end of the day!! That was the longest I'd spent without her, and it seemed long. It was a great weekend, but I was really tired Saturday night.