I can’t believe I’m on a spiritual formation retreat. God gave me a second shot at this. I was in seminary in 2002 when Talbot Seminary/Biola University was in the works of developing the ground-breaking (and to some, controversial) Institute for Spiritual Formation (ISF). By the time the program launched I was taking a class that required attendance at a “spiritual formation retreat.” I remember being highly critical. My friend Erniki and I criticized what we called “weirdo eastern mysticism” and I flat out rejected it. I thought to myself, “God is not at work in contemplating the emptiness of a cup!” So I walked away from that retreat angry and with nothing from God other than how the program needs to “just disappear.” Not too long afterward, that retreat center burned down in a forest fire. Rather than being broken hearted for someone else’s loss, I laughed. When I look back at those dark times of anger and indifference, I am thankful that God, in His Grace, never stopped pursuing me. It has been over a dozen years, but God has given me a chance to continue what he wanted to do in me at that retreat. And the icing on this cake is that I not only get a second shot at this thing, but I’m with my soul-mate and best friend - my wife.
