The last two Thursdays in May found me at Sky Lake Retreat Center in Windsor, NY, co-leading clergy and lay retreats on the theme of “Spring Forth”. Our focus scripture was from Isaiah 43:18-20, using The Message translation:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Forget about what\u2019s happened; Be alert.\u00a0 Be present.\u00a0 God is about to do something brand new \u2013 don\u2019t you see it?\u00a0 God is making a road through the desert, God is sending water to make a river in the badlands.\u00a0 Don’t you see it?<\/p> Sometimes it can feel really hard to see what God is up to.\u00a0 Sometimes, the road before us is clear, like the wide trail around the lake at the retreat center.\u00a0 And sometimes, it seems more obscure \u2013 like a little used trail in the woods where you have to stay alert and look for the next tree with a faded marker on it or the faint trace of a path underfoot.\u00a0 Sometimes it feels like the fog has rolled in and it\u2019s hard to see the way forward.\u00a0 At those times, all we can do is look for the next step, the next sign, and then the next, and then the next.<\/p> Sometimes we are looking for dramatic signs and wonders – like the tongues of fire raining down on Pentecost, or a vivid dream, or a wide open door, or chills down our spine when we read or hear something.\u00a0 And sometimes God does speak to us with dramatic signs.\u00a0 And sometimes, we are so busy searching for signs and wonders that we miss what\u2019s right in front of us \u2013 the urge to contact someone, or find out more about something, or look at what how we\u2019ve been choosing to spend our spare time tells us about where God may be calling us.<\/p> Sometimes, the seed of what will spring forth is still germinating underground, and we can\u2019t see it yet.<\/p> But always, ALWAYS, the Holy Spirit is with us, nudging us along or inviting us to choose where to head next or telling us, gently, to wait just a bit longer. Sometimes it can feel really hard to see what God is up to. Sometimes, the road before us is clear, like the wide trail around the lake at the retreat center. And sometimes, it seems more obscure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wingedlifecoaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
don\u2019t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I\u2019m about to do something brand-new.
It\u2019s bursting out! Don\u2019t you see it?
There it is! I\u2019m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say \u2018Thank you!\u2019
\u2014the coyotes and the buzzards\u2014
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sunbaked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose…<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
So yes, be alert.\u00a0\u00a0 Be present. Notice possible clues and nudges as your day unfolds.\u00a0 But there is no need to grasp or strain.\u00a0 Be relaxed.\u00a0 Rest in the assurance that God will make the way clear to you, in God’s time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"