From Action to Contemplation to Action Again.

It is good to get away for a while ...

On a bike,


By the water,


With a good book,


Watching boats go by,


Enjoying the solitude of a fisherman going about his task,


And then returning home again after an hour, after a morning, after a day, after a few days of really unwinding and gaining perspective,

To embrace those we love, those we work with, those we meet, those we reach out to with open hearts and open lives.

❤️ Ronda

Location:Carolina Beach,United States

Pulling Up Stakes

It is my last morning on retreat here at Carolina Beach State Park and I've wound down so much that I don't see how I can get going again enough to leave.












Ah, but in a few more minutes, I will try.


❤️Ronda

Location:Campground Rd,Carolina Beach,United States

That's How I Roll...

When you get up early and break camp by 8:30 to attend morning Mass while on your retreat only to get there and find people waving you away to say that it is cancelled today....

When you decide to drive a few miles more down the highway to swing by Glass Doctor and ask them to look at the nick in your windshield that seems to be slowly expanding each day...

When you stop by the drug store to buy a new girlie-pink nail polish and a slick gel topcoat (in a trendy black bottle) and hurry back to your campsite to put them on, only to discover after the first stroke that the clear topcoat was actually a colored polish called "Blackie"...

These are things of everyday life, and they are opportunities to do the next best thing while letting it all go...

And so that, my friends, is why instead of going to the beach I will be at the campsite today, possibly riding my bike around until I can get my car repaired later this afternoon, and well, sporting some very snazzy fingernails with racing stripes.








😝 Ronda

Location:Carolina Beach,United States

Solitude

Yesterday


Today


Right Now


Just. Soaking. It. In.

❤️Ronda

Location:L Ave,Kure Beach,United States

Maintaining the Zone

Despite what has gone on all around me today, I believe in the peace that Christ has for me and will do all in my power to claim it.




❤️ Ronda

Location:Federal Point,United States

On the Road Again

After a whirlwind of joy last weekend where we welcomed our son home from college and celebrated birthdays and Mother's Day at my mom's, I have hit the road again with my little poustinia/hermitage/desert place to spend a few days by the sea.

I am staying at a state park in NC that has campsites in a dense forest about a 4 mile drive to the beach. They have electric sites here, which seem absolutely necessary as the late afternoon heat and mosquitoes set in.

On this first morning I am beginning my day with two cups of coffee, some leftover and yummy zuccini quiche, and the Gospel of John from the Mass readings of the day.

At the Last Supper, as Jesus was preparing to leave His disciples, He said, "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid" ( John 14:27-31a).

Wasn't I experiencing those very things as I tried to wrap up things at home to make a space for this time away? Wasn't I anxious as I moved doctors' appointments, had my bike repaired, watered the new redbud tree we just planted in the front yard, put a few meals within sight in the fridge, washed my clothes, packed up, hooked up, and drove off down the road?

Wasn't I thinking, "I wonder if I'll make it all the way down to the beach without my bike flying off the back of the car?"

Truly, I DO "let" my heart be troubled and afraid.

But Jesus promises that He is with his disciples, with all of those who love Him and follow His way. And it is my work to believe in Him and live in the freedom (and the peace) of His risen life.















In (Ever Growing) Faith!

Ronda

Location:Campground Rd,Carolina Beach

Morning Has Broken

As darkness blanketed my little camper perched by the water's edge, I battened down the hatches to prepare for the coming storms.

You know, camping is not just flat tires and snakes, flashing lightening, and windy rain.

It is also the chance to leave all that I know and that comforts me behind.

Camping for me is time spent away from my daily concerns, time to savor the beauty of our natural world, and the chance to ponder the things of God.

It is bald eagles 🦅 flying overhead, gray herons fishing for meals, fluffy white clouds blowing across an ever changing sky, and a time to relax and savor it all.

I suppose if I didn't recount my brushes with adversity and fear then I might have more companions to join me here.

However, doing the things that scare me a bit can be the impetus to help me grow in trust.

Trust that everything will work out okay. And most of all faith that God is really with me and I am not alone.




(Morning comes after the driving rain.)

❤️ Ronda