How prompt we are to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies; how slow to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls. – Henry David Thoreau

Recently, I retreated to the woods of Michigan to spend time in silence and solitude.

I knew I needed it. I was feeling burnt out and weary for no real reason other than that I had not been on a personal retreat in too long. I can’t remember the last time I spent more than a few hours in silence and solitude previous to this retreat.

Know What You Need

I’m an extrovert, which means I love to be around people. The more the better. So, drawing away to silence and solitude isn’t always my first thought when feeling weary. In my younger years, I thought going to a city would recharge me. Early on I discovered that being around people was not what I needed after all when looking for renewal.

With over 30 years of taking personal retreats of silence and solitude, I’ve learned the importance this practice has to my soul.

Nothing can replace the value added to my life of silence and solitude. Not people, not a busy city, or a crowd of people, or even a heartfelt talk with a good friend. All of those are meaningful and energizing to me. But what I find to be most renewing and refreshing to my soul is to draw apart for silence and solitude.

Originally I had booked a Celtic Retreat Center south of Dublin, Ireland. As I considered what it would take to pull this off, I instead decided upon a retreat center in Michigan. I’ll save the Irish Retreat for a different time. Anyways, GilChrist was perfect for what I needed and was very accessible. It was a 45-minute drive and I was there. This made more sense at this point than a plane trip across the ocean for a retreat.

Always Led

No two retreats are ever the same. But one consistent thing is that I am always led. I am led to the right place, the right time, and led to the books/ resources that speak to me. Over the years, I have learned to deeply trust this process.

In the library at GilChrist, I found a book on the shelves that caught my attention. It was a little book but wow did it ever become a tool for some much-needed deeper reflection and even transformation around my awareness of the spiritual home that resides within me. These thoughts by Brene Brown hint at what became clear to me on this retreat. None of the goodness I have longed for is out of reach or lost. It is residing within my soul; I simply lacked the awareness.

If you live in the Midwest, this is the kind of retreat center worth driving to. Every guest stays in their own fully equipped little house in the woods on the edge of a beautiful meadow.

A Few Photos Of GilChrist

Here are a few photos from my time at GilChrist:

“Charlie”, the fully equipped cabin in the woods on the edge of the rolling meadow, where I stayed for 3 nights.

The GilChrist library

The stone chapel, a beautiful place with a fireplace for thinking and reflection

This perfectly placed perch is wonderful for enjoying the big sky, watching the grass blow in the wind, and listening to the birds… all the stuff of retreats.

Photo Credit: John Franz