A Time to Reset
When I first heard about the Reset Women’s Retreat I was immediately eager to sign up. A time to get away to scenic Doe River Gorge with other women and enjoy a time of silence, worship, and fellowship sounded exactly like what my soul needed! As a busy mother of two preschool age daughters, silence is typically hard to come by… or even just time alone! Fitting in a “quiet time” with God into my daily routine has become increasingly difficult in this stage of life and my heart was longing for a spiritual “reset” and time of refreshing – so I signed up for the retreat.
However, as the retreat weekend approached, fears and worry began to creep into my thoughts. Would my girls do okay without “Mom tucking them in”? What exactly would happen at this retreat? What if God asks me to do something crazy? Or even worse, what if He points out all the ways I’m failing Him and shows me sin in my life? Do I really want to face the “silence” and what that might hold?
The retreat definitely proved to be a sweet and meaningful time of connection with other women, time alone with God in silence, multiple moments of praise and worship, and refreshing rest – the perfect balance.
Before our first time of silence, one speaker shared with the group and she said that God was inviting us to come away with Him during this time, and that the silence was not “punishment” but a time to receive from Him – that He was calling us TO the silence to show His love and restore us. Tears streamed down my face, and I knew in that moment that God was speaking to my heart and taking away all the fears and reservation that I had about truly being silent and alone with Him.
It became clear that having intentional time set aside like this is necessary in order to “clear out the clutter” and to really root my identity as a daughter of God in what is true. There is something so healing and refreshing about time away with God in solitude – as scary as it can sound initially.
Another special part of the retreat was the group share time after our silent afternoon. I loved hearing how God met each of us individually during that time, and yet I related to a portion of what each woman shared. Again, my heart was encouraged as I saw a glimpse of how God loves each one of us and meets us right where we are.
I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to go on the Reset retreat. The most important thing I learned was that it is so worth it – the outcome and benefits are worth the struggle, effort, and even mental battle, that it can take to “come away to a quiet place” and have time with God.
Laura Allman
