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 September 19, 2003
When I think back on my experience at the Reflections Of God retreat held at Villa Maria last April, three things come to mind: playing with clay, walking the prayer labyrinth, and laying on the lawn in front of the retreat center in the warm afternoon sun with my hat pulled down over my eyes.
Now I know there were other things that went on at the retreat, including some wonderful times of worship, a series of excellent teachings, and great times of fellowship. But those three other experiences are what stick out in my mind the most.
When I arrived at Villa Maria on Friday evening I was tired and stressed, I felt disconnected from God, and frankly, I was burned out from a long week of work. When I left, I was rested and reconnected with God.
 At the retreat, I awoke early Saturday morning and walked out to the prayer labyrinth behind the main building. The prayer labyrinth is a winding path of bark and dirt traced with stones in a circle around a central space containing a small tree surrounded by some logs for sitting. At first I was a bit apprehensive because I didn’t know how long it would take to walk to the center and back and breakfast was a half hour away. But my curiosity got the better of me and I started in. As I walked the winding path, I began to talk to God and very quickly I began to feel God’s presence with me urging me on farther and farther along the path. I reached the center and spent some time kneeling in prayer and then I walked back out. By the time I was done, I had managed to give over to God most of the things that had stressed me out the week before.
 Later that morning after a hearty breakfast, I attended one of the sessions; the topic was on God as the potter and us as the clay. As an activity for the session we were each given a large block of clay to play with, and I have to admit I had not had that much fun for a long time. I must have spent at least an hour and a half making cups and creatures and other things out of clay. By the time I had used up all my clay I felt more in touch with who I am, an artist; and a real sense of childlike wonder filled me.
Saturday afternoon after lunch we had several hours to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so I decided to lie out on the lawn for a while. I spent an hour relaxing in the sun, meditating on the theme of the retreat: Reflections Of God. I had a strong sense of being held in the strong arms of God while I lay there.
By dinner, I felt really good. I was relaxed and rested. There was another session after dinner and then all of the retreat attendants and team members parted ways. I didn’t want it to end. The members of the retreat team were helpful and open, the teachings were timely and powerful, the worship was filled with the presence of God, and the other attendees were interesting and fun to talk to.
Needless to say, I had a great time and highly recommend the experience to anyone looking for an opportunity to relax and reconnect with God.
article by Taylor Kent | 
