Session 1: Held in Love

0:00

As we begin this retreat, let love bring you into being: you are held by God, and you are loved…

Allow your breathing to gently deepen… and your body to be at ease… Let God look upon you… and notice God’s delight in you, without any hint of judgement…. Can you rest in God’s loving gaze, basking in its warmth, and listening patiently for God to speak…?

2:25

Listen now to the Word of God spoken through the Prophet Isaiah…

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.

3:46

an arrival

Notice how the one who created you in the beginning, is the one who has been walking with you through all life’s struggles: God has never abandoned you…

As you continue, rest in God’s gaze… acknowledge the desires that are stirring within you…

How would you like to respond to God, who loves you and holds you each and every day…?

Thank God for this loving attentiveness… and ask to be able to see yourself and others through God’s eyes… sharing that same gaze of loving delight as you go about your life…

Can you find a moment today just to pause, and let God look upon you with kindness once again…? You might like to keep a small notebook with you this week, to sharpen your awareness of the presence of God in your life…

God, before all else, you are the ground upon which I stand, you are holding me in being, and you love me every day.