The weekend of November 5th was supposed to be like any other weekend; sleep in, do chores, and spend the remaining time with my family or friends. However about a week beforehand, it was announced to me that I was going to be spending my weekend on a retreat with my church. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the news, though I tried to keep an open mind, and more importantly, an open heart as the weekend approached.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t angry or disappointed, I was just afraid I was going to spend my weekend being bored out of my mind. When we arrived at the retreat center, the atmosphere was already different than I had expected. Kids were friendly and inviting. We played icebreaker games. Finally, when we went inside the main hall, we all got to take off our shoes and spend the first night in praise and worship. During the next two days, I learned a lot. Talks were given on different talks concerning our personal life and our faith, and it taught me forgiveness. Patience. Reverence. Openness. And more importantly, it gave me back the power behind my beliefs.
To me, beliefs are the ideas that you assume to be true. Faith is the strength behind those ideas, the force that drives you to act upon them. I was revitalized with a new love for God. Today, I’m trying to practice those ideas that I learned during my weekend, with my family, friends, and at school. In the end, I’m glad I went; glad I got the spend my my weekend with God instead of just living a weekend like any other.