I awoke on Friday morning at 5.25.
As I pondered this I realized that between the plain integers and the squares there was probably no other time that could have more emphatically pointed to the number 5. I knew the theme of this retreat was in this number – representing GRACE.
Throughout our time together the abundance of God’s grace was both telt and felt, through to the final gathering on Saturday.
That evening, Mike, one of the ‘father’s’ in our group shared a ‘fresh’ testimony of how his heavenly Father had in a dream revealed to him a second grade wound, he had all but forgotten but that had for 45 years kept him in a prison of shyness that he always assumed was ‘normal’ After walking the 5 steps he had discovered a new liberated ‘normal’
Interestingly the ‘shaming’ wound was at the point of his considerable artistic gift. When the class of 6 year olds were told to copy Sister’s drawing of a tepee, every child had their copy proudly posted on the wall….except for Mike – for he had sketched a more ‘true’ version of a tepee.
At this final session we usually post one of two works of art.
One is the Prodigal Son by Charlie Mackesy. However before the last retreat for some reason I had uploaded another piece by him. I now knew the reason…….and after Mike’s sharing displayed it on the screen……a beautifully handpicked and perfectly timed message of loving approval from Father for his artist son, Mike….that we all got to enjoy together!
The other famous work of art we sometimes post is the TRINITY icon by Andrei Rublev, pictured at the beginning. I didn’t use it this time, but afterwards reflected on our final time of sharing seated in a circle around the communion table where we had just commemorated Christ’s victory over sin, death and satan.
Three men ‘co-incidentally’ positioned as the three in the icon, had each shared about the freedom they had come into that day. We noticed that each of the three had also ‘co-incidentally’ worn a shirt bearing either the word or number for Victory – 17
I realized there had been no need to show that work of art, for it had in fact been, incarnationally present in our very midst!
The next morning as I woke and our Father began putting these things together in my mind. I turned to see what time it was:
5:17