My Beginning Experience

Beginning Experience is a great resource that I wish I had used sooner.

After my divorce, I thought that I should be able to work through my loss on my own.  I read some books, did some journalling and thought that should be it - I just need to move on.

Many years later a friend asked me to fill in for her at this retreat that needed a pastor to come pray with people.  It was the Beginning Experience retreat.  I really didn't know much about it, but I came for the Saturday evening time and prayed with people.

It was an awesome experience just praying with these folks.  I could see that they were in the middle of a great transformation - people were really being healed and working through their stuff.  As I was leaving the evening, the leader walked me to my car.  He asked me about myself, and I revealed that I was divorced too.  He invited me to come to the next retreat and I resolved to do so.

On my retreat weekend I came with a very healthy bit of skepticism.  I thought I would just go through it so that I could help lead the next time, I didn't really need to be there, I was ok.  But after our first couple sessions a lot of anger came out of me all of a sudden.  Issues that I had stuffed deep down inside came bursting out.   I was shocked, the other people on the retreat were shocked, but they accepted my feelings and helped me work through them.

At the end of the retreat I felt such relief.  I felt freer and more myself than I had been in a long time. By putting the past to rest, present day issues in my life became clearer.

I'm really grateful for the Beginning Experience program, and I encourage anyone who has gone through a divorce or has been widowed to go on the retreat.  It is a life-changing retreat.

Check out our website for more info on how to get signed up.  Our next retreats are Nov 4-6 and then in March