The journey is the retreat, gratitude is my compass, and JOY is found in the everyday.
What if a retreat was not defined by where we go, but by how we choose to see and respond to what surrounds us?
As educational leaders, we often encourage others to slow down, reflect, reconnect with their purpose, and care for their well-being. Yet, how often do we give ourselves permission to do the same? Perhaps we have made the idea of a retreat more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps a retreat can happen on an ordinary drive, during a walk along the water, through a meaningful conversation, while listening to music, or in the unexpected kindness of others.
I am calling this my Deconstructed Retreat.
Gratitude: Beginning the Day with God
As I walk through this new season of life, I am striving to listen more intentionally, live more fully, and recognize God’s presence in all aspects of my life. One simple practice is beginning each morning with gratitude, giving thanks for another day to serve Him and others. My favorite morning jam these days is Phil Wickham’s Isn’t He Good. It is a beautiful reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Recently, I shared the song with an NCEA intern. When I saw him a few weeks later, he shared that it had become his favorite morning jam, too!
JOY is synergistic. When we share the good, it has a way of multiplying. Tune in to my favorite Spotify playlist I call, Streaming in His Spirit.
Surround Yourself with People and Ideas That Illuminate Your Soul
Throughout my educational leadership journey, I have found tremendous value in surrounding myself with people who carry His light, challenge my thinking, and inspire me to grow. I also love reading work that inspires my soul and lights my dendrites on fire!
One person I have recently discovered is author and podcaster Chris Stefanick, thanks to my husband sharing his morning men’s devotional with me. In Living Joy, Stefanick draws upon the wisdom of Blessed Solanus Casey: “It’s heaven begun, for the grateful on earth.” Stefanick (2020) reminds readers that gratitude helps us recognize and enjoy the blessings already present in our lives. What a powerful invitation for leaders. Gratitude does not remove our challenges. It changes the lens through which we experience them.
The Road Becomes the Retreat
This weekend, I traveled through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, headed toward Lake Michigan in preparation for the MANS Great Lakes UNITY Conference and NCEA Catholic Leadership Summit.
The autumn colors, open roads, changing skies, and beauty of Lake Michigan provided an unexpected opportunity for reflection. As I traveled, I found myself returning to Matthew Kelly’s prayer of transformation in Rediscover Jesus (2015):
“Loving Father,
Here I am.
I trust that you have incredible plans for me.
Transform me. Transform my life.
Everything is on the table.
Take what you want to take and give what you want to give.
Transform me into the person you created me to be, so I can live the life you envisioned for me.
I hold nothing back; I am 100 percent available. How can I help?
Amen.”
In reading this invitation to trust God’s plans, hold nothing back, and become the person He created us to be felt particularly meaningful in this season of my life. There is something powerful about being willing to say, “How can I help?” Not simply in our professional lives, but in our personal and spiritual journeys as well. I am learning that sometimes the most meaningful transformation begins when we stop filling every moment with activity and allow ourselves to listen. I am so blessed to have my husband of 33 years, and two adult children, walking beside me on this journey, cheering, encouraging, and supporting the dream!
An Unexpected Gift of JOY
When I arrived at my destination today, a beautiful surprise awaited me. My Loyola Press partners had thoughtfully prepared a JOY Kit in celebration of my forthcoming book, The Four Pillars of JOY for Catholic Educators: A Pocket Retreat. What a gift! The kit includes creative resources designed to encourage educators to pause, reflect, and rediscover the JOY at the heart of their vocation. I am especially excited to raffle a few of these during my upcoming leadership session.
Choosing a publishing partner is an important process of discernment. I am deeply grateful to collaborate with a team that understands the heart of this work and the importance of nurturing the spiritual well-being of Catholic educators. Small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact.
Leading with Intention: The Retreat We Carry with Us
St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spirituality invites us to find God in all things. That invitation has become especially meaningful to me. What if we approached our everyday lives as opportunities for spiritual renewal? What if we intentionally made room to laugh, play, explore nature, enjoy fellowship, read something inspiring, and listen for God’s voice?
What if we recognized that caring for our own spiritual well-being is not separate from our leadership responsibilities, but essential to fulfilling them? As I prepare to spend time with educational leaders this week discussing Leading with Intention, I am reminded that intentional leadership begins with intentional living. We cannot continually pour into others without making space to be renewed ourselves.
As I traveled the highways, windows down, praise and worship turned up high, I realized that renewal does not always require a formal retreat. Sometimes it begins with gratitude, a beautiful sunrise, a favorite song, a conversation with a friend, or the courage to embrace a new season of life.
Continuously Streaming in His Spirit
Over these next few days, I am choosing to tune my eyes to God’s beauty, open my heart to His grace, and listen more closely to His invitations.
I intend to laugh, learn, explore, pray, and be fully present!
Not a traditional retreat, but a deconstructed retreat. One that reminds me that God is not waiting for us only at the destination. He is present throughout the journey. Same roads but an intentional, new way of seeing. I surrender!
Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of all, to discover that when we intentionally seek His presence, we can continuously stream in His Spirit!
What might change if you approached your next ordinary day as an opportunity for retreat?
With gratitude and JOY,
Dr. Denise Ball
References and Inspirations
Kelly, M. (2015). Rediscover Jesus: An invitation. Beacon Publishing.
Stefanick, C. (2020). Living Joy: 9 rules to help you rediscover and live joy every day. Emmaus Road Publishing.
Wickham, P. Isn’t He Good [Song].
Spiritual inspiration: St. Ignatius of Loyola and Blessed Solanus Casey.
