Come Away

Mark 6:30-31a

The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”

Come Away

For five years, my husband and I were co-executive directors of a ministry designed to be a place where people could come away. In fact, the tagline was “A Place Apart.” Cedarkirk Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center, in Florida, had a landscape that was very different from what people imagine when they picture Florida. My friends from the north called it the rainforest. Even the Floridians experienced it as different than the beach, and the highways and the traffic they had become used to. Cedarkirk’s landscape was dozens of paths through palm trees, with a river flowing through it. There was a large wooden cross, reminding those who came that they were there to refocus, and recenter themselves, to find the spiritual rest they needed. Eventually, they would need to go back into the world, and this rest was meant to help fill them up for the journey.

There is a need in these days we are living to come away. To let ourselves be built up, renewed, strengthened for the journey that life in this world asks of us. It might not look the same as the kind of retreat Jesus describes, or even the ones provided by today’s retreat centers. Some chapters in our lives don’t allow much space for that. But our soul will still be asking for what we need. This morning, I’m wondering what an experience of coming away might be for a parent of young children, or a young adult working tons of hours to make ends meet, or a senior who doesn’t usually leave their house. Maybe the place of rest and renewal doesn’t have to be far from home. Could it be that place can be found within us – where Jesus invites us to come into a place of quieting our soul, and letting ourselves be filled by whatever words or music, or silence our soul needs?

Dear God, Please help me pay attention to where you are calling me to be spiritually filled, and say yes to your invitation. In Jesus Name, Amen

Reflection Questions:

1) Have you ever come away from your daily life to be renewed in a retreat setting? What was that like for you?

2) Do you sense a need to get your soul-filled up to keep moving forward in these days?

3) What helps you feel spiritually renewed?