Witness Wednesday #78 Catherine (ACTS retreat)

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Today, I will give my witness about the ACTS retreat I went on this weekend. One of the things that makes the ACTS retreat different and special is that you don’t know what to expect, and everything is a surprise. So, although I will be witnessing my experience, I won’t talk about what we did at the retreat as that is a well-guarded secret that I will keep out of respect for the ACTS community and out of respect for those who may be listening that want to go on an ACTS retreat someday.

I was very excited when I signed up for this retreat. I had been wanting to go on one for several years now, and the timing never lined up. The first year I saw the flyer just after it had happened. The next year I am not sure what happened, and then COVID happened. This year, my friend invited me in July, and it worked out that I didn’t have anything planned for that weekend. I signed up and was excited about getting to experience one of these weekends.

ACTS stands for Adoration, Community, Theology, and Service. I don’t think I knew this before going. I don’t think I knew very much at all before going. I remember the flyer I had seen years ago talking about helping you live out the Acts chapter in the Bible. However, I think that may have just been the theme for that retreat. The theme for last weekend was Forgiveness. I love this theme, as forgiveness is so important. There are so many ways unforgiveness can block us from God and from His graces, and even our eternal salvations. I am all for more teaching on forgiveness.

As I said, I was so excited for this retreat. I was really looking forward to it. Then, as it got closer, I started to get nervous. I was happy because I did know 3 other ladies from my prayer group who were coming, and I knew two ladies on the team putting the retreat on. I knew I wouldn’t be alone. However, when I usually go to a retreat, this is not the case. I started to remember how strange it felt to show up and not know anyone. In most cases, I have a schedule so I can see what is going to happen at the retreat. However, for this retreat, there was no schedule given to us in advance. This was a good thing because it let you be in the moment without constantly thinking about the next thing to come. However, it didn’t help calm our nerves before getting there.  Sometimes the unknown is scary.

We met at the church and took a bus to the retreat location. This was nice and yet also a bit intimidating as we weren’t sure what we would be walking into. However, there were a few team members on the bus to welcome us. Getting off the bus, you could tell no one really knew what to expect, and everyone was a bit nervous. We were all shown to our rooms to drop off our stuff and then down to the dining room to eat some dinner. That is something I think I can tell you, we ate a lot of great food throughout the weekend. Especially as a group of women, we are used to providing meals for our families, and it is really nice when we go away that someone else does the cooking, and we just get to show up and eat. We even get to eat our food while it is hot, which moms of little ones don’t always get to do because they are usually feeding the children and then eating their meals afterward.

Over the next three days, we got to know most of the ladies on the retreat weekend. There were over 60 ladies on the retreat between the team and the people registered for the retreat. Unfortunately, I did not get to talk with everyone on the retreat, but I did meet a good number of new people. What I saw on this retreat is what I see on all the retreats that I go to. Everyone comes in a bit nervous, not really sure what to expect, and yet by the time they leave, they have a bunch of new sisters in Christ. They have more people to walk with on this journey of faith.

What I love most about retreats is that a lot of our preconceived notions get blown away. For instance, we tend to think everyone is more holy than us. We tend to think everyone else has things all together, and we are the only ones who don’t know what we are doing half the time. We think that everyone has this faith journey down pat, and we are the only ones who struggle. We think we are alone on our journey, and no one could possibly understand what we are going through. We look at those around us, and we see how strong their faith appears to be, and we are sure they never struggle. What do they have to struggle with anyway? Then we talk with them. Then we get to know them. Then we understand what the saying “You can’t judge a book by its cover” really means.

The reason it seems like you are the only one struggling is because we don’t like to talk about our struggles. We don’t like to admit that we are still trying to figure out our faith journey. We don’t want to talk about issues in our marriage and issues with parenting because we know we are the only ones going through it. We assume because others aren’t talking about their struggles, they aren’t having any. However, you aren’t talking either. While I got to know people this weekend, I met extraordinary women who have battled the same issues I have with my kids. I am not talking about similar things, I am talking about some of the same exact scenarios, so much so that the words they were saying could have been coming out of my mouth as well.

This is the biggest, most amazing thing about retreats to me. Yes, I love the time with God, and I love the brief break from reality. However, what I think I love the best is the way God sets up this time for us to get to know people that we might not have met otherwise. God creates opportunities for us to talk to those on the retreat that He knows we need to talk to. If you have been on a retreat before, no matter the type of retreat, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t been on a retreat, think of some times when you have gone to a gathering of a group of ladies, even if it was just for a few hours. Did you wind up talking to someone that you really liked? Did you talk with someone who you just connected with immediately?

I definitely left the retreat this weekend with some new sisters in Christ that I can walk with along my journey. More people I can turn to for prayers, support, and strength. You also meet people who are further along than you are on your journey, so they can guide you, and you meet people who aren’t quite as far, and you can help guide them. I remember the first retreat I went on, and I haven’t looked back since. I have never once regretted going on a retreat. I have never once been on a retreat where I haven’t met other amazing women. Every retreat, I leave a better person. Every retreat I go to, I get a renewed love for God and for my faith. Every retreat is a stepping stone in this journey called life. Every retreat, I leave with new sisters in Christ along for the journey. If you haven’t been on a retreat, I highly suggest you find one. If mine is not the right retreat for you, look for one closer to you or one that fits what you are looking for. If you want to go on a retreat where you can meet a lot of amazing ladies, and yet you don’t have all the religious things at a traditional retreat, you can check out biglifehq.com Pamela plans adventure retreats for Christian women who want that time together. They are amazing as well. We are not meant to do life alone. We need community. If you don’t have a community, try to find one. You will be much happier. I am actually going to be starting a group coaching community for those of you who want a place where you can grow in your faith with other like-minded individuals. It will be a group where we will come together each week, and I will teach on a topic, and we will have time for small group discussions. We will all grow in our faith together. I will have more details in the upcoming weeks. It will start after the retreat. I hope you all have an amazing week, and I pray each and every one of you finds a retreat you can go on in the next few months. Your life will be changed.