Synopsis for the Women's Retreat of June 2013~by Terri L.

While living in Europe I became intrigued, perhaps obsessed is a better word, with the history of pilgrimage and its offspring, tourism.  Whereas in the United States you might stumble upon a few religious sites, Europe has thousands.  Even our town, Jezus Eik, right outside of Brussels, boasted one; well, at least it was boasted about in the Middle Ages.  Nowadays, like most pilgrimage sites, the area’s draw is not religious; people come as tourists to experience nature in the expansive woodland and dine in the bevy of fine restaurants nearby.  I thought about American Christians and our tendency to approach our faith journey as tourists rather than pilgrims. This led me to God’s Word to search out more what it means to be a pilgrim and to contrast that with the spiritual tourist.

Pilgrimage, the idea of a traveler who is moving and a destination that is fixed is a theme woven throughout scripture as well as specific books of the bible.  As Christians, we are the travelers; God is our destination. Final union with God in heaven is fixed, but what an incredible blessing and privilege that God sends his Holy Spirit to move along with us and move us along in our spiritual journey. Psalm 84:5-7 became the key verses of study.  “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  As the pass through the Valley of Baca (Valley of Weeping), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.  They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion.” 

By the time we had returned to the States, I felt led to share this material with others in the form of a women’s retreat.  It was an “easier said than done” process getting what was in my head out onto paper.  Reliance on God was such a sweet experience as bits and pieces were given over time. Many times during the corporate worship service God would send a verse or thought or connection and I’d have to quickly write it down on my church bulletin so I could refocus on what the pastor was saying.  Over the years, I had built up quite a stack of bulletins!   Other times, after praying, He would send just the resource I needed.  In addition to contrasting the pilgrim and tourist, certain Old Testament feasts that required pilgrimage were important to explore because that’s what Psalm 84 refers to in the literal sense.  The Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), songs sung as they went up to Jerusalem for the feasts were brought out in the study as well. The pilgrim heart always has the steady rhythm of worship. Jesus, as always, would prove to be the key to the study, being the fulfillment of all the OT feasts as well as the Perfect Pilgrim.

God decided to add a dramatic, life changing event during the course of preparing this study.  While at a Women’s Ministry planning meeting, I was giving a summary of the retreat topic.  I quoted the theme verses, Psalm 84:5-7, sat down, and collapsed to unconsciousness.  God’s timing is perfect!  He could have had this happen any other time of day, but He chose to do it right after I recited, “…till each appears before God in Zion.” While I was in a coma in the Neuro ICU for ten days, my family, friends, and the church would grapple with God as to whether I would “appear before Him” in heaven or come back to them on earth.  I had suffered a Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, the most devastating form of bleeding stroke due to a brain aneurysm rupture.  It is the rarest type of stroke, but because of its sudden onset and severity, it has the highest incidence of death. 

While unconscious, my mind was still working in darkness.  Although I did not see or hear God with my senses, I knew He was there. Scripture was in my mind and I talked to God; I repeated parts of the theme verses from Psalm 84.  Although I did not see or hear people with my senses, I knew they were there.  I knew I was in the hospital and that I teetered between life and death.  On the tenth day, God saw fit to allow me to awaken and take in greater details of His purpose, provision and care. I already knew God would be my Guide, even till the end (Psalm 48:14) but the experience of being taken to the edge of “the end” and then brought back was at once terrifying and amazing.  It’s added strength in the “strength to strength” and weakened my ties to this world.  This became my “Valley of Weeping” from Psalm 84:6 and God would go on to help me make it a place of springs.

My prayer regarding the retreat has always been for God to be honored and exalted.  Instead of describing dos and don'ts or unveiling a new spiritual shortcut, I sought to magnify Christ.  I thought if I could do that, God would produce lasting fruit in the hearers' lives.  I also prayed that women’s hearts would be transformed and their minds renewed by the Holy Spirit, that they would grow in their love of God and others, and have a greater sense of priority for eternal things in the midst of their busy, temporal lives.  In short, I pray for the women and myself to have pilgrim hearts in a tourist world.
~by Terri L.