Something that was really encouraging to our family group is that two of our members accepted Christ during retreat. It was definitely really blessing for me to see kids in my family group believe and know that God is real, that God loves them, and that God is a lifter of burdens. But I've also realized that, even though God is a lifter of burdens, the world still sucks. One of our family group members has gone through a lot and when I met him, I could see that there was a lot of wear and tear on his heart. The church was really comforting to him and he told us that it was a community where he felt like he belonged - something he never really felt before. I know, though, that this time after retreat is a really vulnerable time. I know that the enemy will only try harder to discourage this guy and speak lies into his ears, and I really pray that he won't listen to the lies of the enemy. I hope that he is wary of his surroundings and continues to depend on God and carry his burdens over to the Lord even when it seems like everything is going wrong.

I know that this also has been a lesson in my own life. I've never really understood how exactly to depend on God and how to hand my burdens over to Him. I've never had trouble praying when I was in need, but I think I'm finally starting to understand what it means to really depend on God. I'm still not at a point where I can explain it, but having that assurance that everything is going to be okay and my life will never spiral out of control because God's hand is strong and His grace is so bountiful is so awesome to have on my conscience.

The spiritual battle in this world is all too real and, if we're not careful, it can really break us. But the bible tells us that God is already victorious, so as long as we have confidence in that truth, there is nothing we need to fear. We'll feel the pains sometimes and we'll see the injustice and the suffering around us, but we have to remember that those things are just what the enemy uses to hinder us and confuse us away from our Father. The world is imperfect and the world is decaying, and that is why those things are around us. It is nothing compared to our future in Heaven!

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My hope is that I will always remember that no one is perfect. Even the great characters of the Bible, such as Noah, Abraham, and King David, they were all imperfect! They were sinners, and they were part of Jesus' bloodline! If God called sinners, by His grace, to be His forefathers, should we be surprised that He would call sinners to be His descendants?

I am a sinner. I have nothing to be ashamed of, because I know that Jesus has washed me clean, and really, it's the times that I am at my weakest that I need Jesus the most. It doesn't make sense for me to be held back from worshipping God with all that I have because I've made some mistakes; in fact, that's exactly the reason why I only need to praise Him more! And why wouldn't I? The King cares about me so much that He manifested himself into human form to save me from my imperfections.

There's so much to say and process, so I'll have to continue another time. But I just wanted to remind myself of how refreshing retreat was, despite being kind of hesitant to go at first. Hallelujah!

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