When I started this blog years ago I promised myself that I would not recommend action or thoughts that I myself was not already doing or acting on! This specific topic is related to a life practice that I’ve been doing since 2012 in spending intentional time away reflecting on the year and thinking to the next. This Annual Retreat has yielded tremendous fruits that I honestly didn’t fully appreciate till I took sometime to capture them in my journaling this weekend during my 11th Annual Retreat. Yet, let me rewind just a little and share the roots of this practice:
Why Retreat?
So I’ll tap into my military history buff side just a little. Retreating in a military context is usually looked upon as defeat; however, if anyone were to read the biographies of General Washington this could not be further from the truth. Retreat was a brilliantly applied tactic used over and over again to preserve his army while waiting for the right opportunities to face the British forces. Or maybe take the “Miracle of Dunkirk”; where over 300,000 allied troops were sailed to safety in the face of the German blitzkrieg that swept across France at the onset of World War II. Those troops would later play a significant role as a part of the forces that would make D-Day possible in 1944!
In each of these cases retreat was done not with the sole purpose of simply avoiding defeat, but done because of the sincere belief that there was hope for tomorrow worth fighting for again; it was the simple hope that a new day would bring new chances to face the enemy on more favorable terms. When we decide to disconnect and “Retreat” for a time to reflect and think; it is not because the world is on the verge of defeating us, but we too have a belief and hope for the things to come! On each retreat I’ve taken it has not been a time to beat myself up on the things I didn’t accomplish or maybe failed at. My retreats are focused on looking at each piece of my life and spiritual walk with a frank assessment along with intentional prayer and refections.
Retreat Structure & Approaches
I’ll share a little on how I structure my retreats; but I hope that you take these thoughts and make them your own! You don’t need to take a special trip or go somewhere spectacular to suddenly connect with your goal-setting self. During COVID I stayed in the town I lived in and took two extended days for walks and sitting at the Zoo Park along the creek. However, what is important is that you declare it as your time to invest in your thoughts and growth; don’t use that time chasing distractions, truly spend time with yourself and for many of us that can be uncomfortable if we haven’t done this as a regular practice.
The three main areas I look at during my retreat are: Spiritual Growth, Personal Growth, and Professional Growth. There have been other areas I’ve dug into year to year, but these three have been the main stays — each area ends up, after my annual reflections on the past year, with 3-5 goals for the coming year. What I have learned as a best practice (anyone who is a SMART Goal maniac will appreciate this) that having goals that are specific and measurable truly are the ones I have found the most successful year in and year out. In my journal if I cannot create a checklist or tracker for the goal then it is not specific enough because I have no measurability to gauge my progress through the year.
An example personal goal for me this year emphasizes a focus on my blogging and writing, where I crafted a goal that gave a specific number of posts to write in a year’s span with a fillable check sheet that I can keep coming back to throughout the year. If I aspire someday to make a retirement dream of writing…well it won’t just happen, so what is something I can do consistently now? That is a sample question I ask when I dream of longer life goals; which then leads to the development of the more specific goal for the year such as the one above.
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day or Built Without God’s Blessing
As we look back on our lives we must realize that our current successes did not just show up; behind almost all great success there is unspeakable work that took place behind the scenes that laid the foundation for the fruits that came. Our Lord honors hard work (as long as it aligns with his will…try doing something without seeking his guidance first…me kicking myself a hundred times over!!) If God is a part of our planning and goal-setting process, I can promise that he will assist in ways we may not evidently see, but within the heavenly realms great movement is happening for plans the Lord blesses. I am reminded of this promise when I read Psalms 20 (Prayer for Victory); where in verse four it states, “May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans!” When God is for us, truly who can stand against?
Looking back through some goals over the past years here are a few who have come to fruition after being planted and watered in my Annual Retreats:
-Starting and Completing my Master’s Degree in School Administration: I was not highly motivated to get that started about five years ago, but as I started planning and considering where the Lord wanted to take my life this step became abundantly clear and had it set as an annual goal to begin investigating college options. Yet, even after I finished my Master’s I still swore I would never use it…jokes on me.
-Blogging: This whole blog started from a much smaller blog entitled pro doctrina back in 2017! That year on my retreat I set the goal of starting a blog to capture my thoughts and reflections on our education system and practices. It slowly grew and took on another title before becoming Perennial Educator. Yet, it started from a goal set on retreat.
-Small-time Dairying: About four years ago the Lord began working on my heart that I was supposed to someday start a dairy. Usually people are trying to get out of that business so I was cautious to test why I was feeling led this direction. It wasn’t much after, while on my annual retreat, I had the goal set for learning about the dairy industry. Next week, we’ll be picking up my first Brown Swiss Heifer and starting those first faithful steps. I struggle even believing that its true, but God does crazy things!
Where to Start?
Hopefully, after reading these thoughts on “Retreating” the question has stirred, “Where do I start?” Simply, start by getting a cheap journal from Wal-Mart or Amazon and take an hour to just reflect on three big questions:
-How is my relationship with the Lord? (if this answer is shaky then plans are not going to help much…just being honest here)
-What are the big hopes and aspirations of my life? (these can be simple, it can be focused on your personal goals, family goals, or profession)
-What can I do this year to begin working towards those hopes and aspirations? (this is where the rubber meets the road, it is one thing to declare dreams and yet another to do them)
Going on a multi-day thinking retreat should be something built up to and again it doesn’t need to be crazy to be meaningful. I’ve done the backpacking trips as retreats, I’ve done epic road trips, I’ve embedded myself in random mountain communities for a week…but I’ve also reflected while sitting in a library alone at Hale, I’ve sat next to the wind turbine overlooking our former Ag Building for hours after work or hiked to overlooks near Tuttle Creek Lake to just get away. Those little retreats have at times been even more impactful than my multi-day retreats. The biggest thing I can say is this: Take time to pause and reflect on your life every so often. This life is one of the greatest gifts we have been given and deserves our attention to ensure it is being lived in a way that honors our Lord and the sacrifice he paid for it.
This year I share a huge thanks to the Renard Family for allowing me to stay on their little Jersey Dairy Farm in Russell County for my Annual Retreat; the picture for this blog post is from the top of one of the bluffs on their property I hiked to for thinking time!
Thanks for reading and sharing this little post on retreats and hope it inspires further thought and action! Have a blessed start to the week my friends and the countdown for school is getting real!!
Perennial Educator 