Moments Like These...

It is the first day of our mission team retreat. I wouldn’t call it a retreat though, as we will be busy preparing skits, puppet shows and sermons throughout the whole weekend rather than spending moments with God in solitude. What amazed me was how a day filled with anxious and hurried moments ended with a spiritually charged atmosphere that felt so refreshing and invigorating.

It all began when Joash suggested that we as a group have a bonding session where we just share our thoughts and feelings with one another after a whole day of practices. We all agreed to do it then. We didn’t know what to share at first, but someone managed to get the ball rolling. After that, everything just flowed. One after another, disappointments, fears and doubts, interlaced with words of encouragement and support, were brought out into the open. We then began to pray, thanking God for one another, as well as asking Him to carry us through. It was definitely a special and sacred moment. I could feel it in the words, the prayers and the tears. A prayer welled up from deep inside my soul, and I just could not keep it to myself. I felt that it was a prayer that I needed to share when the session came to a close. I prayed it aloud in the end, even though I had not been appointed to close the session:

Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for special moments like these,
because it is in such moments where we encounter You.
We thank you for humble moments like these,
because it is in such moments where we experience Your awesome power.
We thank You for beautiful moments like these,
because it is in such moments where we see Your glory shining down upon us.
We have been talking about faith recently.
Father, we thank You for sacred moments like these,
because it is in such moments where our faith is strengthened and renewed.
All because Joash decided that we should have a bonding session.
We know it’s You Lord, we know it’s You.