To Refresh

Emilie Griffin, in her book "Wilderness Time", writes this about Solitude:

There's more to the discipline of solitude than just spending time by yourself. Wilderness time is your chance to detach from the opinions of others, to forgive some people who have made you angry, to come to grips with the way other people are getting in the way of your relationship with God.

Detach. I have used Emilie's book several times on personal retreats, and detaching is key. When my life gets crazy, I need to detach. Take my current situation, starting a new job that is likely to be high stress. My wife knows that I am better all around when I have a chance to detach. She gets it.

I'm not an introvert. Being around people charges me up. So, solitude is brutal on me. But, over the years, I have learned that I really need it.

It has been a long, long time, more than 4 years, since I last took a personal retreat. We know that I need it. My wife found a handful of Bed and Breakfasts here in the local area, as well as some retreat centers. I have scheduled two nights and a B&B, and will be going off to just detach.

Someday, I would like to do a weekend/week retreat to an actual retreat center somewhere. My friend Natalie has done it, and she swears by it. Maybe next year.

So, what are some of your favorite retreats?

Been anywhere where God could really work on you?

Do you go on a regular basis?

I'm always looking for recommendations.

I will be writing while I'm gone, may even blog about it.