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On the morning of Saturday, March 7, the women of MCC were treated to a nourishing retreat at Nature Pointe in Tijeras. We were warmly welcomed upon our arrival to the rustic clubhouse and greeted by a beautiful welcome display where we donned name tags.

The morning started with worship which was led by our own Radigan sisters as we circled the piano and sang from song sheets. We concluded worship with the blessing of “The Lord Bless You And Keep You:"

“The Lord bless you

And keep you

Make His face shine upon you

And be gracious to you

The Lord turn His

Face toward you And give you peace”

The retreat continued in the main dining room, lovingly decorated with flowers, colorful napkins, program materials and a butterfly and flower card for each with a verse from scripture:

Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone in in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

For our retreat, we studied “Seek His Face,” a Gospel Coalition Retreat Ready women’s event focused on cultivating a life of persistent prayer in a noisy world. The program consisted of three videos, each followed by ten minutes of discussion at our tables.

Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Session One was: Persistent Prayer When Everything Else Seems More Interesting. The discussion topic for our tables was: Identify one opportunity you have for prayer that you aren’t currently using. Women shared both about their current prayer routine and about other opportunities for prayer. 

Mark 1:35-37: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’”

Session Two was: Persistent Prayer When Everyone is Looking for You. The group discussion topic was: How does temporarily putting aside people’s needs in order to pray actually enable us to serve them better?

The program concluded with Session Three: Persistent Prayer When No One Else is Praying and the group discussion question: What are some promises of God that you could pray regularly?

After the program lunch was served along with the opportunity for ongoing fellowship. The MCC women who planned and led the retreat graciously ensured that the event flowed and that all were attended to. The warmth and beauty of the retreat, and the fellowship and connection with the women and with God continue on in my heart.