On Retreat, Women, Snakes and God

I just returned from a three day retreat at beautiful Pine Cove in Tyler. The leadership team from the church had prayed and planned for many months and yet their numbers were down. Blame the economy, the time of year or the speaker but nonetheless they continued to pray and plan for those who did come.

Three day retreats are rare and wonderful. No one has the time for them anymore and yet something sacred happens the second night after the women have had the time to really rest in God and His word and take the time to get to know one another spiritually. This retreat was no different. Despite...or maybe perhaps because of their small number these ladies came prepared. From the first night they grasped hold of the concepts that God had for them and planted them down deep in their hearts.

On the second night the leadership team had a communion and foot washing service. They warned us ahead of time in case we were not comfortable and gave us an out. But it was a moving, beautiful and sacred moment. As we quietly sat soaking in the love of God for each of us and the love that outflowed onto our sisters one of the ladies came back in from a quick run to her cabin and told us a large snake was outside my cabin door trying to get in. It was like a dash of cold water but it was also a reminder of where God is doing a work there is an enemy prowling around.

The lady who discovered the snake said she knew this was the time of year that snakes come out and are aggressive so she had been on the lookout all weekend. Had she not been, she would have stepped right on him. Since it was by my cabin that he was discovered, I turned my air conditioner to freezer level, cranked the ceiling fan to high, put my slippers on the bedside table, got the quilts off the extra beds and put them on mine and prayed for the snake to stay out and for me to not have to get up all night to go to the bathroom. Snakes don't like cold and I wanted to make sure he wouldn't like my room AT ALL.

Heads up!!! There is an enemy prowling around. He waits till the dark to slither out and seeks for a crack to sneak in. We need to be alert to his ways and watch for where he tries to gain entrance. Once alerted we need to do whatever we need to do to keep him OUT - ie reading God's word, fellowshipping with like-minded believers, memorizing key scriptures, speaking the truth in love, etc. You see, he doesn't like a mind fixed on God. He doesn't want us surrounded by believers. He wants us alone and vulnerable so he can attack us, frighten us with his lies and deceive us.

I read a pithy little saying that I will close with:

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the ground in the morning the enemy says, "Oh crude, she's up!"