Weekend Retreat(s)

Meghan invited me to help on her Confirmation retreat this past weekend. Who could pass up a weekend at Covecrest, even if it means giving a talk and leading a small group?






Here's my stuff at Jittery Joe's
as I was preparing my talk:







While youth group retreats are supposed to be retreats for just the teens, typically adults get a lot out of them, though not necessary the same message intended for the teens.

For me, I learned a few simple, yet refreshing messages. There were lots of upcoming events and concurrent events that ordinarily would have prevented me from fully engaging on the retreat. It was nice to learn that I am capable of being truly present where I am.

Next, my intention was never to make up a talk on the spot, but after meeting the teens and learning where they are spiritually, the talk I wrote on Friday needed some altering. Thankfully I found notes from a few other Confirmation retreat talks and was able to quickly piece together a talk. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it came together and was presented quite nicely! I'm glad to know that I am finally at that stage as a speaker, that I CAN do it, if need be. And to never underestimate our own abilities through the grace and help of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the high light of the retreat was the girls in my small group. They grounded me. I've been on such a "high" so to speak, about our awesome teens at Saint Brigid. What I often fail to remember is that our 50-70 active teens are not the norm. The teens in my small group at Saint Andrew ARE the norm. They asked me questions that most of us take for granted knowing, like the Seven Sacraments or the Ten Commandments. Needless to say, when one of the girls asked me if "giving birth" was the first Sacrament, my jaw dropped. The same girl later couldn't grasp the concept of "near occasion of sin" because she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that there is a RIGHT from WRONG! Not so surprising, she told me that it was okay for me and Eric to live together, because (here's my favorite line people use all the time) "You're practically married". Anyway, I knew I couldn't give her all the help that she needed in just a few short days, but I kept remember our theme of Evangelization for the Saint Brigid LifeTeen & EDGE for this semester.....to speak the truth in love. So, again, Holy Spirit moment, I was able to really challenge her thinking in a loving, not critical way. I hope that I was able to help her as much as she helped me. While this encounter with her could have made someone lose hope in this generation, it only confirmed my vocation of being an educator and witness of our great faith!

Finally, I learned that compliments can come in strange forms. Something I had gone in to the retreat weekend worrying about, could very well have just been a backwards sort of compliment. No need to elaborate.

I almost forgot to mention that Eric was up there too, but helping on the Saint Brigid Winter Retreat. It was awesome to see him, and for us to sneak in and hear each other's talks on the different retreats. It was fun too, to celebrate our engagement with the Covecrest staff and family. They've been a significant part of our faith journey