This year, at one of the talks I attended, I was particularly moved by this:
Patient Trust
by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. (1881-1955)
Above all, trust in the slow work of God
We are quite naturall impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability --
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually -- let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don't try to foce them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
A lovely reflection.
It's been a challenging year, to say the least. But thank God for a retreat like this and the many blessings in life. Of course, I took some pictures! Enjoy:
This is my favorite indoor spot: the library.
I took many walks, shuffling through the leaves in my rainboots.
My usual path to the beach (down the 180 stairs) was closed due to a landslide, but there was another route which turned out to be ok.
I love this barn!
I enjoyed walking the new labyrinth:
I even took some time for artwork. Wow, I am quite the artist, haha :) This is of the view from my room, except I made up the blue skies...that certainly wasn't reality.
Mmmm, what a wonderful weekend. Can't wait for next year.
