Gethsemani Abbey

  It's hard to define grace at times.  I know that it's a free gift, but it's hard to put that into terms in a world so caught up in the idea that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
  But this past weekend was grace.  It was a gift, and one I was so grateful for.

  I spent the weekend at Gethsemani Abbey, near Bardstown, KY.  I'd been making plans to spend some time there for two years, and it all finally fell into place.  I give thanks for a gracious and wonderful wife who encourages me to go and do such things, and as hard as it was to leave Rachel & Caleb behind for a weekend, I knew that the time at the abbey would be time well spent.

  I just didn't know how wonderful it would be.

  It's hard to describe what life at the abbey is like.  It's so easy to pray there.  I noticed it while I was there, and it's been compounded since I have been back.  There are no pressing things to do at the abbey.  There aren't a million other distractions that float in and out of your mind while you pray.  There isn't anything tempting you away from time in prayer.  You can just sit and be in prayer, sit in silence and let the love of God wash over you, sit and pour your heart out to Christ.  It's wonderful, and I don't know if I'll be able to duplicate it at home.  I will certainly try, but an unscheduled weekend is a rare commodity, especially in a world of sermons and Bible studies!

  There is a bit of a schedule--they do pray the hours there, which are a welcome distraction.  Some of these last fifteen minutes, some last up to an hour, depending on which service it is.  I went to the Vigil service at 3:15 AM once.  I thought it would be a quiet, dark, short prayer service.  The lights in the church were on full blast, and the service lasted an hour!  It was nice, but I couldn't fall back asleep afterward, meaning that I was pretty tired the next day.

  I spent a lot of time in prayer while at the abbey.  I rested some and caught up on some reading.  My primary goal had been to let the love of God embrace me, and I had a wonderful experience of God's love.  I took a walk to their sculpture garden and spent some time before a beautiful statue of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemani... I imagined Christ embracing me, wrapping his arms around me and letting his love complete me.  It was pure gift, and I'll hold that memory in my heart.  When the winds of the world buffet my life, I'll return to that place, to that feeling of warmth and grace, and let the love of Christ hold me up.

  I give thanks that there are those individuals who are called to the monastic life, who dedicate their lives to prayer for others.  I certainly am not... I can't sing on key, and they do a lot of singing.  They go through the entire Psalter every two weeks!  I imagine that the wife and child would eliminate me as well.  It's a wonderful life to join with for a period of time, but as I rejoin the world I pray that I have the dedication to continue to spend time in prayer, to continue to let the love of God wash over me, lift me up and send me outward.  I pray that the unhurried pace of life there will somehow open my eyes to the rush in which I too often find myself, and that I will slow down, take a deep breath, and trust Christ to lead me forward, single step by single step, and that I do not have to do everything at once.  I hope to continue to grow and mature in Christ, but it is a process that takes decades, not minutes.  I hope that I will find the wisdom and revelation to slow down, to breathe, and let God do a work in me.