Ladies' Retreat 2011

This was the first year in many years that I have been able to attend the Ohio District UPCI Ladies' Retreat.  Usually it is held on a weekend I am scheduled to work (and this year would have been no different!), but since I am still off work with this bumm knee, I was free to go. **BIG SMILE**

One of the best things that the committee decided was to split the group by ages, 39 and younger were in one session and 40 and better were in another.  Joan Ewing and Rachel Coltharp were the speakers for the weekend.  They! Were! Absolutely! Marvelous! 

Sis. Coltharp was hysterically funny with her stories about the things that happen to her while she's traveling.  I was wiping tears off of my face because I was laughing so hard.  AND she was able to handle some very delicate subjects with great discreetness since there were some men who were present. (Personal rant here:  MEN SHOULD NEVER BE PRESENT AT A LADIES' CONFERENCE! I promise there are enough talented women to handle the instruments and the sound boards!)

Sis. Ewing was the one who spoke to my heart the most, though.  I really felt like she had just invited me into her family room for a cup of tea and a chat.  She spoke about the day she lost her husband (this past New Year's Eve) and how she found once again that having Jesus was more than enough.  She talked about losing her eyesight, and discovered that her hearing, both physically and spiritually, became so much more intense.  She talked about her growing relationship with Jesus; as a young girl she thought He was the mean old judge just waiting for her to mess up; as a young woman she found that He was the only Friend she could talk to that wouldn't betray her confidence; as a young wife and mother she discovered that He literally walked every step with her, and she has kept her hand in His ever since.  "I can trust every step I take as long as I let Him guide me, because He knows where He wants me to go."

I don't know if I have ever been to a retreat that was so low-key and yet so profound.  The theme was Reaching Beyond.  The Spirit was reaching inside!