Retreat: being with God

20 September 2021

Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash

Retreat: being with God

To retreat is to pull back from, to move away from. In military terms, to retreat is to pull back from the battle, to regroup where the opposition is too strong and the retreating force is stretched too thinly, and to re-energise and strategise.

Jesus ‘retreated’ to be with his Father many times: after hearing the news of the death of John the Baptist he withdrew, after feeding the 5000 plus people, he went up on a mountain by himself to pray, and he withdrew to the garden of Gethsemane to be with his Father.

The practice of retreat has a long history within the Christian tradition. Many hermitages and retreat centres provide places for Christians to go and be away from the busyness of life and be with God. It’s primarily disengagement and then re-engagement from a slightly different perspective.

Retreats can be short or long and take many forms. One of the important aspects is to come to God with no agendas or to do lists for this time. My retreat days have usually included a good coffee, a walk and some sleep.

It can be helpful to have resources to guide me through my retreat: my Bible, some music, a prepared retreat guide, pencils and paper, art work, poetry, clay and many other resources.

It is important to remember however that these are to help me engage with God. They are not tasks to be completed.

There are many retreat resources available. Elim soulcare is a website created by retired officers Majors Jo-Anne and Ross Brown. https://elim-soulcare.com.au/