![\"Rev.](\"http:\/\/www.edenuccchicago.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/JackiBelile-cropped.jpg\")
That timeless verse is on a big sign you see as you enter (and leave) the retreat center where I spent nearly a week in Frankfort, IL. The Portiuncula Center, affectionately known as “The Port,” has been a special place for many years but I had never stayed in the hermitages before. Simple little places meant for a solo stay and NO WIFI.<\/p>\n
I did sit still. And slept and read and walked and prayed and listened to classical music 24\/7. On the way down there, we already had a sense that my original arrangements might not be long enough, so I stayed two extra days, Monday afternoon through Sunday night. And I was fit enough upon return to make good on a couple days of fulfilling promises I’d made about housework.<\/p>\n
As Rev. Wayne passed on Sunday morning, I got a taste of restoration I haven’t savored in a couple years.<\/p>\n
I’ll pass on my special thanks for Wayne personally. I really appreciated his message I just took in. He so clearly proclaimed this Biblical truth–the relationship between “remembering” God’s strength and being renewed for our present hardships. No rosy picture of the past required; just remember… what God has already seen us though.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I pledge to continue taking this in as the reality check I need. There are many aspects of this present time which are hard, sad, exhausting. AND We are not alone. To allow that to sink in and make a difference<\/u>, we ALL must find the ways to sit and be still.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I know the flexibility of a pastor’s job may seem to make it easier to do so but trust me it does not necessarily. It still boils down to choice and discipline. I believe I took zero net time off last year. And one week in January 2021 I clocked 75 hours. (This was a warning flare, an unusually high amount but in a pattern of my working more than our contractual agreements). These were my<\/strong> choices, no one else’s. No one else’s implicit or explicit expectation.<\/p>\n As we head into Lent shortly, we appreciate the wisdom of the Church’s spiritual practices and a season beckoning us to attend to our spiritual grounding in Christ. I pray that you will each heed the Spirit’s tugging and warning signs, and choose the stillness you need. I’m not just talking about swapping out moving parts.Stillness. Even a FEW MINUTES a day, guarded with your intentions to remember God and practice receiving Christ’s care, will make a difference.<\/p>\n May even this season be, in the grace of God, renewing.<\/p>\n In Christ’s Peace, That timeless verse is on a big sign you see as you enter (and leave) the retreat center where I spent nearly a week in Frankfort, IL. The Portiuncula Center, affectionately known as “The Port,” has been a special place for many years but I had never stayed in the hermitages before. Simple little places…<\/span><\/p>\n
\nPastor Jacki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"