Carry Camp Retreat – Part 3
Have you read part 2 + 3, yet? If not you can read part 1 here and part 2 here.
So the last day continues. As usual we get up early and have breakfast. And believe me when I tell you that was rough every morning for me. I am not a morning person at all.
Following that we went into our final small group time. During this time, we were instructed to spend a little bit of time praying and reading the Word to determine when we leave the retreat, what will we take home with us and what will we leave behind. And after that time, we shared what we determined with the group. Very cool. Here's what I determined...
What I'm taking:
Bravery
Strength
Knowing God's got this
Hope
“Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.” – 2 Samuel 10:12
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west." – Isaiah 43:1-5
What I'm Leaving:
Bitterness
My plans
Insecurity
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." –Isaiah 55:8
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.” – Ephesians 4:31
“You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.” – Job 11:18
I was not surprised at all about the things he showed me that I was taking home with me. But I was very surprised about the word "insecurity" that He wanted me to leave behind. I'm thinking what the heck does insecurity have to do with infertility. Then I read Job 11:18. I can have hope because of my security. I am dealing with insecurity, how can I have that hope. And how will I be able to fully rest confident in His ability to take care of me? Wow. I definitely can say I'm glad to have left my insecurity behind.
We then decided to do a bunch of group pics! We definitely are a fun bunch!
After that everyone started leaving to head home. Some of us decided to stick around and go to lunch together. I decided to do that. We went to some place in downtown Franklin. I don't even remember what it was, but it was nice just to chill and hang out with my new infertility sisters and friends.
After lunch I headed home. Needless to say, this weekend completely shifted and transformed my infertility journey. I was expecting to have some more hope and encouragement, but I didn't expect to leave so many things behind and come home with a new vision for my life. God really is good. When I got home the first thing my husband asked, "Was it worth the money we spent?" Typical male response, I know. So, all I said was, "yup, so worth it." And we left it at that. You see, he has been having a really hard time with God in the midst of our infertility journey, so I knew now was not the time to share what God had done, but I knew it would be sometime soon.
To close out, I'll just show you a few pics of a few of the goodies they gave us at the retreat.
This journal "Story", the theme of the weekend which I took plenty of notes in during the weekend. The crazy thing about this journal is when I went to work on Tuesday that week, I discovered my new planner for 2017 said on the front, "Write your own story." That just blew my mind. That told me that God had an amazing story planned for my life in 2017.
Then you see this bottle of tears that came up the verse that it goes along with and the tear drop ring. Such an amazing gift and reminder. If you want to get one of these for yourself or for some of your infertility sisters, you can find out about these at http://bottleoftears.com or visit Lindsey on Instagram: @bottle_of_tears
