I remember being mocked the first time I went on a personal spiritual retreat. Everyone thought it was hilarious that I brought what looked like my entire library. I was “the bag lady” from then on. I had a wonderfully glorious day despite all of the teasing! Thirty years later, I’m still the bag lady. I never know what I’m going to feel like doing during my retreat, so I bring it all.
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It's really easy to get buried in too much work, only to have one more thing come up that we must do. Of course we say, "Yes," and before long we are living overwhelmed. I've been quite surprised that even during retirement when I'm not reporting to a boss, I still find myself running ragged. It seems that no matter what stage of life we are in, the only way to have some time to rest is to schedule it.
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Are there prerequisites for Christian ministry? I think so.
Jesus really wants us to know His love. When we get to heaven, I think He will ask us, “Did you know that I loved you?” He wants us to float in the river that is His love. He doesn’t want us to just stand alongside the bank of the river getting splashed every so often. He wants us to jump in, be fully immersed, letting the current carry us downstream. That's a prereq for ministry.
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Moses begins his psalm, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations..." Moses did not say that he lived in the palace in Egypt, nor the back country of Arabia, nor the desert and crags of Sinai, but the Lord was his dwelling place. It seems that if I could learn a little bit about what it means to dwell with the Lord, then I wouldn't get so tossed about in the turbulence of life.
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I remember feeling so disconnected from the Lord. I was actively involved in ministry but feeling totally out of it. I had no idea what I needed, but I knew that I needed something.
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