Mark a New Season of Life with a Retreat

Johanna Stamps describes how a personal retreat can offer tools and answers for moving into a new season of life, especially caregiving, with grace.   

Using a retreat to mark a new season  

This time last month I was sitting bedside in the hospital with my mother. While she’s 84 on paper, she’s been 60 in my mind for more than two decades. Her stroke symptoms jolted me into reality: We are moving into a new season.   

I’m not alone in this shift. Recently, I’ve had an abundance of conversations about new seasons. Many others, like me, are entering into a season of caregiving for ones we love. For some, it’s a new intentionality with children entering adulthood. For many, it's an ailing husband, aunt, or father.   

What is beautiful about the conversations being had is the contemplation and prayerfulness so many are bringing into this time of change.   

For many in the world, a change of season can feel like an inconvenience — something being inflicted upon you. That was not the theme in the responses I received. The theme was personified into a question:  

“How can I love those I care for — those I love the most — even better during this time?” 

As we walk forward boldly into our new seasons, it may help to take a moment and look at the situation with a birds-eye view.    

Many people are choosing a retreat model for their time of grief and transition. Let’s face it: No one really wants to focus on their grief and change for more than a few months. A retreat can be a wonderful way to delve deep into a specific area of focus.   

In preparation for a retreat, it is helpful to set a goal or intention. Often, I ask, “What would you like to get out of this time?” The answer can be as simple as, “I want to be able to walk well through this new season.”   

Now, at this point, much of the world would take to Google and look for “10 Helpful Tips for a New Season of Life.” A retreat is different. Choosing a retreat acknowledges that each of us are unique, so our response will be different from anyone else in the world. We have unique circumstances, strengths, and weaknesses.  

Mark your new season with these questions: 

1. What event is marking this new season?  

This question speaks not only to circumstances but also has a tendency to bring up your emotions related to the circumstances. When I was in the hospital last month with my mother, I began rearranging plans in my head of what the future would be like. The event of seeing someone’s health change before your eyes means we may lose a sense (albeit a false sense) of security.  

2. What has been the writing on the wall?  

Usually, our change of season is accompanied by a more subtle change — perhaps something that was preparing you. Over the summer, our life became much more focused on rest and intentionality when it came to our health. Maybe you have been drawn to books that seemed like a departure from your usual topics. Maybe God has put a different prayer in your heart. Perhaps you signed up for a course that intrigued you. In hindsight, these subtle attractions were a means of preparation.   

3. What are you clinging onto as you move into this new season?  

Too often, our hardships moving into a new season are due to holding onto a part of ourselves from a previous season. For me, I loved pushing the limits on what was possible in our life. I would pack so much into a day, sometimes to the detriment of my family. God is always calling us to surrender. What are you clutching onto as you move forward that needs to be released?   

4. What is needed in this new season?  

If our new season is related to how we love others, often, this time of change may involve a new goal, added skills, or even a different perspective. I needed to move on from my old way of stacking experiences and ease into days full of rest, thinking more about the needs of those around me. I needed to become very clear about what I need from day-to-day and create time to voice those needs to God.  

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Copyright 2024 Johanna Stamps
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