This was the 1st thing you see when you go into the conservatory. What a breathtaking way to begin a prayer retreat. I felt like I was in the Garden of Eden, with Jesus walking beside me.
This was the desert room...as you can imagine it was hot and dry. As I walked through it seemed there was a lot of desolation and bareness. Then i came to this one tree that looked dried up and dead. It was pretty ugly looking and looked to have no prospect of ever growing anything. Below it was a sign that said "I'm not dead, I'm dormant!" It continued to explain that in the summer (I think...maybe fall???) it will come to life and grow things. I started thinking about the Pitt campus and how right now it doesn't seem to have much life to it, other than the few sprouts of students that have worked so hard this semester to get the chapter running. From an outsider's standpoint it could look pretty lifeless...which can be a discouraging thought in a prayer retreat. But then God was pressing on me how the chapter isn't dead, but dormant. In it's due time God will make it grow and blossom. We just need to wait for its season and follow God's lead in how to care and nurture it now, and when God's timing comes it will grow and flourish far beyond we could ever dream....which is a more encouraging thought to have ^_^
This was the Japanese Garden. I spent a lot of time in this area. There was such beautiful simplicity and serenity in this area. Most of the time I was admiring the landscaping, listening to the birds, and watching the fish...just enjoying being able to experience God's creation in a new way. After a few moments of reflection I began to read from Philemon. In this letter Paul writes to Philemon, a slave owner, inquiring about a runaway slave, Onesimus. In short he is asking that Philemon allow Onesimus to return as a brother rather than a slave. As I was reading, a portion of the letter really struck me. "Perhaps the reason he was seperated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good- no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother." (Phil. 1:15-16a) After reading this I immediately thought about the past year, leaving Morgantown and Covenant to come here and work at Pitt; and once again returning to Morgantown for next year. Of course I'm not saying I was running away, or that I was a slave in Morgantown, but there is truth in this. In order for me to grow and learn more, I had to leave, but now I can return with more skills than I had and be more ready to lead in many areas. I can return more as an equal partner in ministry, rather than a student or volunteer with ideas with no real means of carrying them out. For me this time in the garden was confirmation of the past and future, encouraging, and renewing.
The Amazon room. It was another favorite of mine, a place where I felt so small but cared for.
I just thought this was funny.
My 1st thought when I saw these...the trees from Dr. Suess' "The Lorax", and "Horton Hears a Who". But I found them very beautiful with an air of gentleness.
Outside Phipps you could see the Pitt and CMU campuses. I took time here to pray for the upcoming year and the new plans being made. For me the smoke stack like things illustrated well the state of the Pitt campus (as I talked a little before)
This was an interesting moment to me. I was exploring along the side of Phipps to see what else was around. Andrea (staff worker) was walking the other way and said there wasn't much to see over there. Out of curiousity I went anyway to see for myself, and sure enough the overlook was pretty ugly with equipment and weeds and all that. She was right. So I turned to continue back the way I came and off to the side of the sidewalk was this fountain and a small Landscape of flowers around the patio. I was thinking how strange it was that these nice elements were here in the middle of not so nice elements. They just stuck out. I wanted to get a Picture, so I knelt and took different angles. As I looked at this one I thought, if I didn't know better I would think this was in the middle of a beautiful garden. Once again I began to think of campus. It's surrounded with all this ugliness, but if one were to look and really search out the beauty that can be there, they will find something no one else may have been able to see. It's all in perspective.------------------------
So that is a short tour of our prayer retreat. I would recommend everyone to do similar things. You never know what God will teach and show you in nature.
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