After a Retreat: How Do You Keep the Glow Burning?

I recently came home from a retreat. Retreats are wonderful, blessed experiences -- the deep peace you feel, the communion with God, the abundance of prayer and reflection time, the awakenings you come to, the clarity of God’s voice, and the love and community of others with you. It’s almost like being in heaven with God for a week, and you never want it to end. 

I kept thinking to myself: Do I really have to go back home? Can’t I just stay here forever wrapped comfortably in the Divine Presence?

I feel most fully in love with God, spiritually fed, and alive when I am on retreat and just after coming back. When I look at my face in the mirror at the end of a retreat, there’s this warm glow and sense of fullness that I see where there are typically tired, weary eyes. God has revived me and given rest to my soul.

There is nothing like the peace in your soul on a retreat. 

There is always dread that stirs in me about coming back to the real world. My fellow retreatants spoke of this dread as well. We know the feelings we have will diminish after a retreat. We know peace will stray from us at times. We know we will have less time for prayer and communion with God and others. We know what lies ahead: the chaos of life. 

How do you keep the glow of retreat burning in your heart? 

I think part of keeping the glow is making the things you did on retreat part of your everyday life -- connecting with others on a "soul level," spiritual reading, journaling, praying, taking walks, making space for contemplation, holy listening, being attentive to God’s presence moment by moment, rest and leisure, and whatever else sparked those warm feelings -- most importantly, by coming closer to the Lord. 

We keep the glow burning by drawing further into the Source of its flame.