I was about 50 miles away from Pandora this last Monday afternoon when I felt in my pocket for my cell phone. My pockets were empty. No cell phone. I looked around the car where I sometimes lay my phone. Still no cell phone. It became obvious that I had leftmy cell phone at home. I began to inwardly panic. Here I was going to be away from home for two days with lots of driving and no cell phone. No way of communicating with the outside world. No way of calling for help if I needed it. I was too far away to go back. I would need to forge ahead with no cell phone.
Then I caught myself. I begin to consider the ridiculous nature of my unfounded panic. I have been without the “security” of a cell phone considerably longer in my life than I have had one. I would have to depend on people to stop and help if I had problems, as I have for most of my life. Could I not depend on God to provide if I needed help? Did the promises of God’s constant presence mean nothing to me? There are other ways of communicating, and after all, I was going on a retreat to be alone with God. Sometimes, all our technology gets in the way of being still and waiting to hear to voice of God.
I arrived at Camp Friedenswald after my Panda Express supper at University Park Mall in Mishawaka, Indiana. Instead of the noisy bustling crowds at the mall I found an encompassing silence at Friedenswald. The health center, where I was to stay was left open for me and no one was around. It was quiet. Very quiet. I walked down to the beach. More quiet. There was no noise except birds and the normal night sounds in the woods. At first the silence was a little eerie. Then the silence began to wash over me and seemed to cleanse me from my addictions to noise and “doing.” I was reminded of the verse and song from Psalm 46, “Be still and know that I am God.” I forgot about my lack of a cell phone and began to soak up the silence and peace of the Peaceful Woods. I brewed a cup of coffee and sat on a swing outside as darkness came. I knew that this is what I needed and looked forward to the next two days of prayer, silence, reading, and reflection.
Tuesday was our Central District Conference Ministers’ Resource Day which focused on Psalm 46 and being still. There were times of group reflections as well as silence in the group and on our own. There is really something very powerful about corporate silence. I also benefitted from the times of walking the trails in the woods. I had never noticed the giant beech trees on Turtle Hill before. Not quite like the giant Sequoias in California but very tall for Indiana. All in all it was a great time away, even though I got lost on one trail and missed one of the group sessions and even though I tripped and fell on a rough chip and seal road and tore my jeans, bloodied my knee and lost my glasses. (That is another story for another time.) It was a great time of renewal away from the demands of my work and focusing on what is really important. I never missed my cell phone.
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