The Plumbline

God is solid backing to a well-lived life, but he calls into question a shabby performance. (Proverbs 10:29) Just met with the financial advisor and one of the questions I keep asking is how 'solid' the backing of every investment is right now. As I near retirement, I want to be sure my investments will be solidly backed. Backing sometimes comes in the form of a 'thing', but it can also be a 'place' and a 'person', right? Be in the right place and have the right person 'backing' you there and you are likely going to do okay in the end. A sanctuary is kind of like having that 'well-backed' place and it is usually a place provided by some pretty 'phenomenal', as well. There is something special about having a place of sanctuary, isn't there? When we have a place of retreat, we somehow feel a little better knowing we can go there to recover from the things of our day that beat us down and made us more than a little weary. Anoth...

You're my place of quiet retreat;  I wait for your Word to renew me.  (Psalm 119:114 The Message) As time passes, I have realized the value of times of retreat.  I used to think of times of retreat as something along the line of a "forced withdrawal".  I really just did not enjoy time away from what I was doing everyday.  Some would have called me a little too "retentive" - - if you know what I mean!  I have come to recognize that "retreat" is sometimes the most strategic thing you can do! The very act of withdrawing into a place of quiet and safety is often the best "move" we make.  That very "movement" into a place of what appears to be a "lack of movement" is actually bringing us to a place of refuge - - within that refuge, there is privacy for the planning of the next movements we will make. The opposite of retreat is advancement.  There are very specific times when we need to pull away, step back, ...