Five things I learned from our recent church retreat to Copalis Beach:
- Christian community is always rewarding. I found myself not wanting to come back from the retreat, but I realize that it’s because Christian community is always rewarding, but ministry is not always. Ministry is hard work and many of the rewards don’t come til the next life.
- I’m not all that different from the sand. We don’t give any thought to an individual grain of sand, because there are billions. And God could easily not give any thought to humans, because there are billions. But He does. I am not worth anything because of my accomplishments. I am only worth something because God says so. And I’m thankful He does.
- No matter how much you think you know somebody, you don’t. I delight in learning new things, especially new things about people. I found myself discovering new things about people that I thought I knew, but realized I didn’t. And to me, knowing somebody is the first step to loving them.
- God desires spiritual cleanness much like we desire physical cleanness. Being at the beach has a way of making us feel “dirty.” Sand, salt water, bugs, rat poop….all have a way of making us feel dirty. I wonder if the same way we desire to be clean physically is as strong as our desire to be clean spiritually. Sand is nothing compared to sin.
- God is a beautiful creator. Even though it wasn’t sunny, I was still amazed at the magnificence of God’s creation. Trees, sand, ocean, shells, crabs, horses, and yes, even slugs. And not just God’s creation of nature but His creation of people. Nature is so diverse and people are so diverse and it’s not because of evolution but because of a beautiful creator who took the time to give us enjoyment through infinite means.