Retreating from a Retreat

I had the privilege this past weekend of teaching at a youth retreat with Omaha Bible Church. This was a good providential reminder that I am getting old. These kids were unbelievable, just nonstop energy, from before dark in the am to well past dark in the pm, going, going going.

I found myself retreating regularly to the air conditioned room to study and rest, while the kids ran around in the 100+ degree heat like they had just downed a six pack of Red Bull and a king sized box of Nerds.

A funny thing happened on this retreat, I learned of how much I depend on my wife. She stayed in Omaha with the three youngest kids due to the heat. So I packed my own stuff. So to me it was important that I had my Bible, my laptop, some books, my running shoes, change of clothes and my sunglasses. Well that is about all I packed. I conveniently forgot my pillow, sleeping bag, a towel, and extra socks. Fortunately my 11 year son packed my toothbrush and toothpaste for me. I was a mess. This was a good lesson to be reminded of how much my wife does for me and how blessed I am.

This was particularly driven home on the first night when the air conditioner was turned to the “Arctic” setting and I shivered on my mattress with my head propped up on my gym bag perfectly stuffed with running shorts and t shirts. In the middle of the night just prior to loosing a limb from frost bite I got smart and covered myself with my extra clothes and socks, this aided a solid 10 minutes of sleep. Man I love my wife.

I would love to talk about the retreat but don’t have a ton of time here. We studied Heaven, Hell, & Jesus; which for me is about as fun and exciting as asking a Redneck to talk about turning left and the benefits of sleeveless T-shirts. It was awesome.