Ministers' retreat

This is the view from my room. I am on ministers' retreat nearby the Hartebeespoort dam.

I don't do retreats well. Let me say this... I don't retreat well with other people. Father Pete is always on my case about this, and I know that there is value, but... there is actually no "but".

Where do I hear God speak? When I am alone. Not just alone in my study, but when I physically remove myself from my context, with respect, my family, and lovingly, from the church. I hear God speak while sitting alone in an airport terminal, waiting for a flight. I hear God speak in a guesthouse while I wait for the time when I have to deliver a paper. I hear God while I am sitting here in my room, supposed to be praying and asking how the church has hurt me, but choosing to write a booklet on prayer during times of financial crisis. I overlook the dam. It is starting to rain. I smell the fresh air, I jump at the sound of a loud thunderclap only meters away... and I hear God speaking. I think I am retreating after all. I just can't take the group work.