I recently received an incredible gift of retreat at a Benedictine Abbey in Wisconsin. Each day during our prayer or free time meant another opportunity to explore the Monk’s expansive lakeside property deeper. I spent many days looking for a walking path through the woods, or something that led down better to the lake. The second last day of retreat, as I went out walking, Rosary in hand, attentive to a prompting, I began to walk in a direction I hadn’t explored yet. I simply followed the Holy Spirit gently guiding my steps in a certain direction. The driveway led to the farm field. I felt called to turn left and continue down a mowed grassy path into something that looked like an old unkempt apple orchard.
I reached the end and came to a wall of trees, bush and felled branches. I stopped and stared for a while at the wall. “Another dead end,” I thought. But then, as I peered through the bush, I saw it! There through and on the other side of the bush wall was a path! I had to crouch down, and carefully I made my way through the overgrowth. Success! I had found it! We had found the hidden path, Jesus! What an adventure! I decided to hike off to the right, which led me through woods and sunlight, up and down hills. I had to watch my time and decided to turn around and go back. When I got to the place of the orchard where I had entered though the bush, I decided just to continue on the path a bit longer to see where it would lead.
Before long, I came to a small clearing and a pier with a boat dock! What a discovery! I couldn’t believe my eyes! There it was, what I had been looking for all of retreat! I just needn’t be afraid of going through a bit of thorn-bush in order to be led to the refreshing waters! The pier had a nice bench to sit on at the end of it too!
That same day, earlier in the morning, the Lord was gently guiding my heart through some painful memories and tough stuff that had become a part of my “operating system.” I discovered with the Lord that there had been something in my heart that blocked my way of loving, and the Lord opened up before me in a spiritual way a hidden path in my own heart that led me to a place of refreshment, a newly-discovered place for deeper love. How He orchestrated these two hidden paths to be revealed on the same day is no accident. It is a gift of His providential love, and special attention to every detail of my life.
For the “hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.” He “is of great kindness.” He leads us to refreshing waters to reinvigorate our souls, leading us who are thirsty to “come to the water.” In the Lord, we eat and we are satisfied, and there still remains such an abundance of grace!
