May is full of chaos - how does it sound to enter the wilderness right now? Can you imagine the peace and quiet, the tranquility, the sanctuary? Imagine what that space might look like. Waking up to birds chirping and a cup of coffee, enjoying the evening around the campfire talking with friends.
If it feels hard to imagine this sun warmed setting, and what comes to mind instead feels less like sanctuary and more like a bug infested, sleeping on the ground nightmare - do I have an invitation for you.
Last fall I started doing some pretty intensive work into the spiritual experience of wilderness. I'm convinced that we all have a wilderness experience of our own, and Scripture points often and in various ways to what this feels like. Mostly, it feels like the second description above - lots of complaining, not much comfort, desperation to leave it quickly. And yet, there is an invitation there to enter the wilderness with a more open heart and open mind.
Sarah Bessey says in her book Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith, "I believe the wilderness is an invitation from the Holy Spirit, a gorgeous, rowdy invitation to the life you never dreamed possible, a more welcoming sort of party with a few quiet corners for good conversation. It seems to me that we’re desperate for some gentleness, compassion, wide-open space, and kindness.”
If that feels like a calling to you, I'd love to travel along with you in this space. Literally. At the end of September, I am offering an Enter the Wilderness retreat at a gorgeous cabin in Dawsonville to a very limited number of participants. I know in May it is hard for some of us to think about September - but trust me, it will arrive quickly. Plan now for a beautiful fall weekend with a small number of friends to really experience gentleless, compassion, wide-open space, and kindness. I'd love to have you join us as we explore the wilderness together. I hope you'll consider this gorgeous, rowdy invitation to what I hope to be a life changing weekend.
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