Women's Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks!!

You know how sometimes you just know that you're where you are supposed to be???  Well, that's what this past retreat weekend experience was like for me.  From seeing numerous Pennsylvania references (through license plates, store names, even to having people from near my hometown/Knoebel's sitting behind us in mass the other night) to the signal graces that popped up here and there over the course of the 4 days, I felt like everything had fallen into place and I was doing what I was supposed to be doing this past weekend.  

It all started with the shirts I had designed as a surprise for the girls.  Originally, I had hoped to get a shirt made with a beach ball, seashell, or a pair of flip flops embroidered in the top left hand corner of the shirts.  I spent many hours trying to find just the right pattern online and asked my best friend, little brother, and Mom for their opinions.  However, upon going into the store with a printout of what I hoped to have for the logo in custom making the shirts, I was told that the designs I had in mind were not available so I opted to go with the starfish pattern the store offered. 

Here we are with our matching tshirts!  The girls seemed to like them!

Then, on Friday night, when at dinner, we all bought matching starfish necklaces to commemorate the trip.  One of the girls mentioned that our starfish necklaces looked like stars rather than starfishes to which I jokingly said, "Well, then they can remind us of Jesus Christ Superstar!" (thinking about the musical).  It wasn't until the next night that I remembered that I had put Bryan Adams' song, "Star", on the mix CD I made for each retreatant of a medley of songs to enjoy on the ride home. 

I thought that was the end of the star references but alas, I was wrong, for at the end of the weekend my Mom sent me a text that said, "You are a STAR.   You really make a difference!" when I told her about the retreat.  I wonder why she chose that word...?!

Another cool signal grace deals with my dear friend, Lisa Gorman Goddard.  I had recorded her talk on "99 Ways to Authentically Attract Your Future Spouse by Growing in Virtue" back in March at her Theology on Tap talk in Harrisburg with the intention of showing the video during the retreat.  Debate and discussion over the content of the talk and the handouts that went with it occurred over the next few days about singlehood versus married life and other topics dealing with dating.  On Saturday afternoon, I impulsively picked up my "The Saints Day By Day" book to share information on that day's saint since we were waiting out a brief rain shower that prevented us from going to the beach when planned.  I was shocked to read these words about and from July 14th's Saint, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, in light of what we had been discussing off and on throughout the weekend...

Finally, once home, upon going through the many pictures that had been taken over the weekend, I stumbled across this one. 

Do you see who's name appears at the bottom right hand corner??!  Goddard is my friends, Lisa and Michael's last name!!  (Lisa gave the talk on growing in virtue before meeting Michael that I showed the retreatants on Thursday night..)  Carmen had taken this photo of my GPS as I was driving because we liked how you could see the ocean in the top right hand corner of the GPS.  I find it interesting that of all the streets we were on, this was when we chose to snap the photo and in it appears a reference to something we had done while on retreat....!

Below is a write-up of our experiences that I wrote for my church newsletter followed by some photos of our incredible and inspiring weekend for you to view.  Enjoy!

Women’s Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks, NC

            In mid July 2012, four women from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Young Adults (IHMYA) group went on a weekend retreat at Outer Banks, NC.  The theme of the retreat was on, “Faith”, and how we could grow in that area through completion of service, spiritual, and social projects during our stay at the beach.  On the first day, we volunteered at a local nursing home for three hours by playing Bingo with the residents, providing Bingo prizes, visiting with the residents in their rooms, helping with word find puzzles, listening to their stories, singing and dancing with them, and just being with them.  Smiles and laughter were present everywhere we went while working at Colony Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Thursday afternoon.

            That night, we watched a video of a popular speaker from Theology on Tap sessions (in Harrisburg, West Chester, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania) talk on the topic of, “99 Ways to Authentically Attract Your Future Spouse by Growing in Virtue”.  Please see this link for more details on the speaker and the talk:  http://lisageek.blogspot.com/2012/03/theology-on-tap-99-ways-to.html .  A lively discussion over the handouts and the content of the talk ensued over the next few days. 

            We began our second day, Friday, by attending daily mass at the beautiful Catholic church, Holy Redeemer by the Sea, in Kitty Hawk.  Afterward, we received Confession and an impromptu tour of the church.  One of the many interesting details of this church included lovingly handcrafted Stations of the Cross that were made by one of the parishioners, a local artist.  Next, we went to the Outer Banks Beach Food Pantry, a non-profit organization, to donate 16 pounds of non perishable food.  Our new friends gave us a quick tour of the pantry and expressed thanks for donating much needed supplies. 

After getting in some relaxation and fun on the sandy shores of the Atlantic, we headed to dinner at the Tale of the Whale restaurant in Nags Head.  The food was delicious, the service was superb, and the atmosphere was pleasing!  Upon finishing our scrumptious meals, we headed out onto the dock behind the restaurant to enjoy the talents of Kim Kalman, a Catholic singer/songwriter one of the women had met at the Ignited by Truth Catholic Conference in Raleigh a couple years ago.  As the sun set over the bay, we enjoyed hearing both contemporary and Christian music as well as the stories behind the songs.  Kim even took requests and performed several favorites a second time.

Our third day of the retreat began with a beautiful sunrise over the beach, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, creating book marks and the sharing of inspirational quotes, a relaxing day at the beach, mass at which Kim performed the music, donating baby supplies to the Pregnancy Center, and ended with an hour of reflection at Jockey’s Ridge State Park where we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over both the ocean and the bay from the large sand dunes.  Finally, we grabbed a bite at the Outer Banks Brewing Station, the first windpowered brewery in America where we all agreed that the retreat had been a worthwhile & inspiring experience.  Many expressed an interest in returning next year and we would love to have you join us!  Please email Meg at uncgmeg@gmail.com for more details or any questions you may have.  God bless!

 

I saw this picture last night and it seemed a fitting conclusion when wrapping up my reflections to the Women's Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks!!  Can't wait to do it again in 2013!  ;)