Word from Missy Reiber

Cozy Mountain Lodge, by Missy Reiber

 

          This past Saturday, the 29^th, was our Women’s Ministry retreat.  Our retreat was based on Ruth, chapters 1-4.  The retreat was a day full of worship, Bible study, a service project, a time of quiet prayer/reflection and a lot of laughter.  It was a day of praising, learning, relaxing, and laughing.  We were able to come together, just women, for 7 ½ hours and forget about all of our worries, our stress (because what woman doesn’t have a little, or a lot, of stress in her life?), our responsibilities, and come together as friends and have fun together.

 

          To sum up Ruth 1-4 for you: Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, had two sons.  Her husband moved the family, escaping a famine that went through Judah, and built a new foundation in a new town to call home.  Elimelech died, leaving Naomi and their two, now married, sons behind.  The sons later die.  Now Naomi is left struggling to survive with her two daughter-in-laws, feeling alone, scared, angry, bitter, and hopeless.  They had the Lord but was that enough?  The three woman head back to Judah.  Naomi tells her daughter-in-laws to leave her and go back to their mothers’ home lands.  One daughter-in-law, Orpah, leaves.  Ruth, the other daughter-in-law, stays with Naomi.  Together they continue to travel.  By the time they reach Judah, Noami is extremely bitter with all the changes that she was forced to make in her life.  Ruth begins to work in a barley field owned by Boaz, a family relative of Elimelech.  Boaz, over some time, sees the kindness Ruth has shown to Naomi.  Boaz allows Ruth to have access to all of the food, water, and barley that she and Naomi need.  How grateful she was!  After a series of events, much patience, and a lot of trust from the Lord, Boaz and Ruth marry and take over the land that Elimelech had left behind. 

 

          During our retreat, we discussed the foundations of our lives.  What is our foundation?  What is our foundation made of?  Is it strong or weak?  We were divided into “get-a-way” groups of four to discuss these things.  As we discussed our foundations, we began to build mini log cabins.  Next we played board games, stopping after a few minutes of playing, to switch with a different group and take over their game in play. What a change that was!  We discussed the trials in Naomi and Ruth’s lives as we built the walls to our log cabins, writing encouraging words on each other’s roof wall.  We also worked on a service project together, making bean and barley soup.  We will be donating our soup bags to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.  What a pile we have too!  Some chose to pass along their soup bag to an individual that is in need.  This was a choice each woman had.  After our service project, we had a 30 minute time of prayer and reflection.  We each received a pendant to wear, engraved with Psalm 23:6 and Psalm 46:1.  This is to remind us of God’s deep love He has for each and every one of us.  At the end of our retreat, we took some time to reflect on the joys of Chapter 4 of Ruth.  It was a happy ending to the years of trials of Ruth and Naomi, as well as a happy beginning to a new chapter of life for Boaz and Ruth!  We also added the final step, the roof of our log cabins.

 

          Leaving the retreat left me asking myself a lot of questions.  What is my foundation in life?  Is it strong?  Will my “walls” crumble upon me when changes come along?  How will I react when those changes, some times unexpected, come?  What will I do when I see someone else’s “walls” crumble around them during a time of need.  Can I add a little more time of prayer and reflection to my all ready busy life?  Will I rely on God to take care of me?  Will I remember every day of my life just how much God loves “little ole” me as much as He does?  My answers…. YES… YES… YES…!  How quickly I can forget the importance of the life that God has given me and to praise Him for this life!

 

          Cozy Mountain Lodge… where woman draw closer together to find shelter in God.  What an amazing day together.  Thank you to the many women who helped me plan this retreat and execute it so beautifully!