Be Still And Know That I Am God

As part of my fellowship with Santa Sabina College, I was graciously invited by Dominique and the Santa Sabina staff to attend their annual three-day retreat for the girls in Year 11! So on a chilly Wednesday morning I packed up my trusty navy Jansport, hopped on a bus with 60 eager teenage girls, and we made our way to Kiah Ridge Camp in the beautiful mountains of the Great Dividing Range!

Enjoying the sun on a chilly afternoon :)

The theme of the retreat was "Be Still And Know That I Am God" (from Psalm 46:10), and the goal of the Santa Sabina staff was to help the girls come to a deeper understanding of themselves, as well as an understanding of the role that God plays in their life.

Wednesday's activities began with a small group exercise in which the girls were handed a paper suitcase, asked to recognize all of their "baggage" - everything in their life that was nagging at them - and to write it down on the paper suitcase. We then discussed the importance of having an open mind on the retreat, which would encourage the girls to fully embrace all of the activities we had planned for them over the next three days. From there we watched "Mona Lisa Smile," a film about young women studying at Wellesley College in the 1950s, and the expectations of women during that period in history. The girls were surprised to learn that Wellesley still exists, that it's only about one hour from PC, and it is still an all female university!

What's a retreat without a sing-a-long around the piano?

After a hearty dinner, we commenced my favorite activity of the entire retreat - creating a "Life Graph." The staff were really excited for this activity as well, as they had never done this on a Santa Sabina retreat before. Dominique said she was inspired by a Jesuit retreat she had attended, and thought it would be fitting for the theme! We all gathered in the common room in front of two white boards (life stories can get pretty lengthy...) and Dominique took us through all of the up's and down's of her life.

Dominique demonstrating her Life Graph

From the high's and low's of high school, to meeting her husband, to trying to find meaning in her life, to having her daughter, Dominique explained that the greatest moments of her life were only so because of the sufferings she endured. And having the difficulties and successes drawn out right in front of us, we were able to see, as Dominique so beautifully articulated, how "the angels carried her up again." A few Kleenex and lots of hugs later, we returned to our small groups and mapped out our own Life Graphs, and I was shocked at just how beneficial this was for me.

Celebrating the first day of winter in Aussie!

To have the time to sit down and physically draw out the happy times, the sad times, and the confusing times really helped me to acknowledge how I came to be where I am today. And with every downward line, there was always a wonderfully joyful event to bring me out of it. It was the perfect way to physically see how God carried me through my darkest hours, and it reminded me of a beautiful quote I had recently discovered: "God sometimes takes us into troubled waters not to drown us, but to cleanse us."

I even got to see my first wild kangaroo (with baby in pouch!)

On Thursday I was blessed with the opportunity to lead the girls in morning prayer, and I began our reflection with a song that was used by a fellow leader of mine on this year's Lighthouse Retreat for sophomores at PC. The song, "It's Alright" by Brandon Heath, conveys the difficulty of letting go of control in our lives and giving it up to God. I remembered being a junior in high school, just like these girls, and worrying so much about college, SATs, grades, dance competitions, and track races. But in hindsight, I now see that I shouldn't have worried so much, but instead, I should have "been still" and known that God would carry me through. The lyrics of the song read, "It's alright, everything will be okay. Just hold tight, I'll be with you the whole way. When you're weak, I'll be strong. Keep fighting, we're almost home. It's alright, everything will be okay."

My lovely small group :)

After prayer the activities continued, and perhaps the most prominent was the mask activity. After discussing personalities and relationship dynamics in our small groups, we encouraged the girls to decorate a mask with the personality that is truly theirs - not like the masks they feel they have to wear or hide behind sometimes. This activity was beneficial, as it taught the girls to think about what makes them their authentic selves, and how they act and feel when they are most comfortable.

All smiles on the massage train!

When the girls finished decorating their masks and shared with the group what their designs represented, we asked the girls to think of someone that they feel they never have to wear a mask around. Interestingly enough, all of the girls answered with, "my family." Lucky for them, we were prepared, and pulled out a stack of envelopes - letters addressed to each of the girls, from their families.

Our prayer space - very peaceful!

Later that evening, after lots of free time, a yummy dinner, a massage train and some Bollywood dancing, we constructed a Liturgy of the Word to celebrate together. Each of the small groups took on a task of piecing the liturgy together, which really encouraged the girls to get involved! My small group took on writing the Prayer of the Faithful. One of the groups was assigned with designing the "prayer space" and used all of the masks that had been designed earlier as a centerpiece! I was truly amazed at the creativity of these 16 year old girls!

Santa Sabina College, Year 11 (and 20 year old Em!)

Praying with all of the girls and the Santa Staff was not only a highlight of the weekend, but definitely a highlight of my entire Aussie experience. And packing up to head back to Strathfield the next morning was truly difficult! I have to admit - I was slightly skeptical and nervous during the two-hour bus ride to Kiah Ridge... this was Day Three without Joe by my side, and I was starting to feel a little lonely without my travel buddy. Now I was being taken away from my homestay family and forced to put on the big girl pants and be a leader to 60 teenage girls. But God was a work in me, and not only gave me the strength to find comfort with my Santa family, but I saw that God gave me this retreat so that I could retreat as well. After three and a half weeks of the fellowship, this retreat was the ideal opportunity to reflect on all of the blessings in my life, to refocus my prayer life, and to mentally prepare for the changes to come with the two weeks of travel ahead.

And to that I say, "Bring it on" :)