“God determines who walks into your life…..it’s up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.’
I am not sure of the original source of that quote, but I am sure that these are eight women that I would refuse to let go.

On Friday afternoon, along with 69 other women from WLA, I headed up to Paisley for the annual Women’s Retreat. It was a full and rich weekend of worship, study, prayer, fellowship, good fun, good food, getting caught up with old friends and making some new ones. I am just so grateful that this happens to line up with my time in Ontario each year. The facility is no five star hotel but the beauty of God’s creation is evident all around in the rolling hills, the greenery and the sounds of nature.

I am so grateful for Deb, Jan and Shelley who put probably hundreds of hours into the planning that is necessary to put together a weekend of this magnitude. The theme this year was Simmer and we all came away with much to think about as a result of Shelley’s studies from Isaiah on God who is: Indescribable: Worthy of All My Worship; Incomparable: Worthy of All My Trust and Incomprehensible: Worthy of All of Me.

The weather was cool and overcast but didn’t interfere with our usual Saturday morning which we spent in a quiet place alone working through a study guide that Jan prepared. With Barb, Catherine, Kate and Anita leading the music and worship and Ang and TL as technical back up it was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on God’s greatness and His love for us.

It really is a blessing to share a weekend with a group of like minded women ranging in age from 18 to 89 and to rejoice in who God is, to share our joys and struggles, the lessons God is teaching us , and to just kick back and have fun around a campfire. Given my recent shoulder injury, I carefully avoided the “Extreme Sports”.