(MEADOWS) retreat
experience
God’s
peace
presence
Relax on the
fishing dock
of Tejas Lake.
Embrace God’s
creation and find
time for true
peace and quiet.
>
&
Soul
Restoration
> By Kelly Reat retreat director
During an inquiring phone conversation about Camp Tejas one day, a caller asked “In a
word how can I sell Camp Tejas to my group?” That question abruptly stopped my thought
process cold in its tracks as I was highlighting the entire list of our amenities to the caller.
I believe the Camp “sells” itself, but that is easily accomplished when a person sees it. How
do you convey that to a group gathered in an office 150 miles from here? This particular
group had been attending very nice upscale hotels for their conferences for several years and
was looking for someplace new and different. Within a brief moment I looked out the large
glass windows of the office and took immediate notice of the large pine and oak trees gently
swaying in the breeze. It was then that the image of the sign at the camp entrance flashed in
my mind and one word stood out. Retreat! The very name we have given the season from late
August through May here at the camp.
Most think of the word only in the sense of getting away from the daily grind of the
proverbial rat race. But in this instance, it would be retreating from the objects of steel
and concrete within the cities created by man in an effort to wow us. God, in His incredible
love, has given us His creation not only to admire and enjoy, but also to foster that intimate
relation He desires with us, and to remind us that He is the Creator. Psalm 23:2 tells us that
“He makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside still waters.” He actually
draws us to His creation through the beauty and wonder of it, if we take the time to allow it.
Verse 3 of the same chapter begins by telling us “He will restore our soul,” and His creation is
one of the methods He uses. So not only does Camp Tejas have an environment to get us away
from our daily routines and clear our minds, but also to restore our relationship with God,
the Creator Himself, through the beautiful setting that He has graciously given us. >>
“Not only
does Camp
Tejas have an
environment
to get us
away from
our daily
routines
and clear
our minds,
but also to
restore our
relationship
with God.”
camp tejas
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11/12/2009 1:15:57 PM