on retreats, sunrise, and theology

i love going on retreats. especially with junior high and high school students. that's where i am this week. i get to enjoy watching some students experience god in new ways and other encounter god in old ways. it is beautiful. i have thoroughly missed working with students.

this morning i woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise over the lake. it was breathtaking. i quite honestly hate mornings, and considering my body told me it was 5am (we're and hour ahead here in florida) i was amazed that i actually got up. but it was totally worth it. sunrises are a thin place for me, a place where i can feel god up close. i am fairly certain that this week is going to be filled with those thin places.

on the complete other end of the spectrum, i'm with a group of students from a church when most of my beliefs would either be considered (wrongly) heretical or unimportant. i've already once been told by an adult on the trip that i'm only twenty, so my opinions are bound to change so i really should hold on to my current beliefs too strongly. i'm only twenty. because that means i'm unable to have worked through some of my beliefs. it is frustrating, but i am relying on god to keep me honest and respectful. i have refused to argue about social, political, and theological issues thus far (even though several have tried to bait me into these arguments), and i don't plan for that to change.

but the good definitely overbears the bad. and i'm honestly relieved to be here.