Young leader's retreat 2011 lived up to its name perfectly - a weekend of retreat to recharge, reinvigorate, refocus, rejuvenate, reflect... and any other "re" word you can come up with.

Just 8 of in a holiday apartment down at Avoca Beach, spending well-needed time to slow down and listen to God and to build one another up in fellowship and prayer. It's funny, but until last weekend I never realised how absolutely hectic life has been since uni started. It was only when I had entire chunks of time to indulge in that I realised how much I'd been missing out on, how much I've been caught up in worldly pursuits that I'd lost sight of the absolute peace and joy that is to be found in God.
The weather wasn't exactly beautiful (it being the rainy season and all), but there is something inexplicably delightful about being able to walk out onto the balcony of the apartment and watch the sunlight playing upon the surface of the not-so-far-away ocean. And waking up to really, really good coffee (Luke is scarily serious about coffee - to the extent that he used to enter coffee-making competitions where apparently everything from the taste down to the music you choose while you're preparing it is judged) was blissful :)In reflection it's kind of amusing how if you asked me what I did over the weekend, the most accurate answer would probably be, "Nothing much". Nothing being lots and lots of quiet time alone, watching movies and playing board games and eating lots and lots and lots of junk food. In a way I'm glad that we went down to Avoca during winter (however crazy it is - definitely crazy considering the flu I'm down with), but it was quite magical to walk along the near-empty beaches in solitude, conversing with God aloud or meditating silently on the bible passages that I'd just read sitting under an overhanging cliff face.God reminded me of a lot this weekend, most importantly that of His unconditional and amazing love. For a while I have been running the race blindly, enduring painfully, forgetting what He has been calling out all this time, "Yes, you need to endure, you need to keep going, you need to continue on in your faith and in what you have learnt, but never forget that I am here, that I love you, that when troubles come I am your strength and your refuge and your rock and that I will carry you upon my shoulders."And so what can I do but fall down on my knees before His glorious majesty and power and love and grace and mercy, and submit my entire life and being to Him?