Real People

When I got the text from Diana inviting me to the women’s retreat, instantly I was excited and replied that I wanted to go.  As the day grew closer, my anxiety went up.  Am I going to be ‘churchy’ enough for the rest of the ladies? What if I get tired? How will I stay awake?  I have fatigue issues, so I have a hard time committing to things because I worry about being seen as disengaged or cut off – truth is, I’m struggling to stay awake and don’t want others to know!

When we got to the house, I was excited to see where the weekend would take us (and to see who I’d be spending the next 2 days with).  Megan and Diana had a great weekend planned out for us – a lot of eating, talking and getting to know ourselves, each other, and Jesus.  The best part of the weekend, for me, was an activity we all did on Saturday night where we spent several hours sharing the “life boards” that we had made earlier in the day (second best part was the alcohol; don’t tell anyone I said that). 

I found myself sitting in a room full of women that I see at church, women that I’ve known but never really knew.  Behind all of our makeup, cute shoes, smiling faces, and stressful lives, we were all the same – broken humans that were all connected through our love of Christ and our desires to be whole.  To be with women that truly are remarkable, strong, genuine, resilient, and just like me was a reminder of why I love City Church. 

I often sit in the back of church and observe the individuals and families around me.  I make up stories in my mind of how great their lives must be in comparison to mine.  I heard once that perception is reality.  This retreat helped to reframe what I thought was real – perfection.  The retreat reminded me perfect people are not real, and real people are not perfect.