From 8 to 86 - this was the range of ages of those who attended the North Mississippi Ladies' Retreat last weekend. Seventeen congregations were represented. What a wonderful experience it was! Celine Sparks was our speaker and she did a superb job explaining God's Word to us. Simply --humbly -- lovingly -- her lessons came from her heart. One can tell by listening to her just how much she loves the Lord ... His Word.
I am so thankful for her willingness to share. And I am so thankful for every individual who attended the retreat. It is always such an encouraging and uplifting event! It is good for the soul.
I know some people might think of events like these as simply a way for a bunch of ladies to get away and be frivolous and have fun. Maybe they think it is all fluff with no stuffing ... no real spirituality involved. Not so .. Not so at all.
We worship God while we are there. We lift our voices in praise to our Savior and Redeemer -- reverently -- joyfully -- with sweet adoration. We pray to our Heavenly Father -- some of the most beautiful heartfelt prayers I have ever heard have been uttered at Tishomingo State Park. And we study God's word. We learned what a beautiful walk we can have with Christ. We gain encouragement from the lessons we hear ... we learn how to do better .. to be better.
Do we have fun? Do we even act silly with our skits? Yes, of course we do. Is that important? I think so. Doesn't the Bible say "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." (Proverbs 17:22) Sometimes we need a break from the every day trials we face.
Don't you think Jesus laughed? I do! Although the scriptures never record Him laughing, I certainly think He did. Can't you just imagine the wonderful friendship He had between the apostles?
Christ was all human and all God at the same time. It was God who gave us our emotions. We are made in His image. Christ spent too much time speaking of joy not to imagine that He enjoyed life while He was here. Just picture Christ smiling and laughing with the children. Certainly they wouldn't have wanted to be around Him if He had been somber all the time.
So it is good to get away from our ordinary routine from time to time. It is good to enjoy fellowship with our sisters who also love Christ. Still, this is not what a Ladies' Retreat is all about. It's about loving God and loving each other. We glorify Him while we are together. We lift each other up and encourage each other while we are together.
Sometimes we share our heartaches with one another -- or ask sisters to pray for us because of what we are going through. We learn ... we learn from the scripture. We learn how to love God more ... how to follow Him more closely. We learn about how much He cares for us.
You see, it was always in God's plan to establish the church. Christ built the church - He purchased it with His own blood, so that we would have a spiritual family to lean upon and to help one another ... so we would have someone to weep with AND someone to rejoice with. Christ wanted us to "stir up each other to love and good works." (Hebrews 10:24). Ladies' events accomplish these very things.
It is my strong belief that events like these, as well as so many others, keep churches strong. Yes, it is important to have youth activities. It is important to send them to youth rallies and Bible camps and leadership training series.
But when not attending these events, who are these children with? Who sings "Jesus Loves Me" with little children upon their laps? Who encourages the teenager to remain strong when they are teased at school for standing up for their beliefs? Who helps them learn memory verses or speaks with them very plainly about applying Biblical principles to the situations they face every day?
I think we know what a huge role mothers and grandmothers play in a young Christian's life. The children may not (some defy the odds; but not most) -- the children may not grow to be strong and faithful Christians if the mother loses her faith or becomes discouraged.
Even the men who serve Christ faithfully from week to week lean upon the strength of their wives from time to time. Living the Christian life and raising a Christian family is a joint venture after all. Younger ladies come and learn from older ladies at the retreat. They learn about the joy of being with one another. They learn about the joy of serving Christ. Younger ladies see the strength of the older ones and gain strength for serving Jesus even through tough times.
These events serve a special place in the Lord's church. They are not for everyone and they are not an issue of salvation. But they do glorify our God in heaven. The early church fellowshipped with one another on a daily basis -- with gladness and singleness of heart. And the Lord added to them daily. The church grew by leaps and bounds. Did the fellowship have something to do with that?
We've lost the art of fellowship in these modern times. Ladies' events and youth events, men's programs -- all these efforts are a way of bringing fellowship back into God's family. They are ways to help build up the church - to help us become a family and love one another the way God's wants to -- the Jesus commanded us to do.
Christ wanted us to love one another so much so others would know we belonged to Him ...... so that they would want to be a part of the family of God -- from 8 to 86.
Christ above all things,
Robin
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