InterVarsity Senior Retreat: Feb 22-24th

The last weekend in February we had our winter Conference for InterVarsity. For these conferences students from all over the DC area come together for a weekend of study and reflection.

I was placed in the Senior Track this year--mostly because I begged to be put there, but also as an extra staff person to help out with this "class" for the retreat. The Senior Seminar dealt with transition issues, making big life decisions, finding a church, financial management.....basically all the things of following jesus in the real world and for the long haul.
I begged to be put there because I'd never been able to go to such a thing myself. I really wanted to be in on the budget section and the part about friendships/relationships post-college.

A few major highlights for me included the Bible study on John 14. I started to cry reading jesus' words to his disciples. Throughout the chapter he is reassuring his disciples that they have the tools and the knowledge to make it in his absence--they will be ok! But they doubt--as we all do. The verse that made me cry is when Jesus says "I go to make a place for you...if it wasn't so why would I say it?" All I could think to myself was--yea, why would he say it then? Jesus doesn't lie to us! What a good God we serve.....he will provide, he's not going to turn around and say "just kidding" one of these days.

Other major talks included one on ethics in the workplace, an awesome talk on decision making, and financial management. The decision making talk she said most of the time in our lives we will not know what God wants us to do explicitly. But we will have some signs (this does not exclude prayer!).....but to think of it like a runway that a plane will land on....if 70% of the lights are light-up, it's probably a go. Could sound like reading a fortune cookie or something--but to see lots of things lining up for God to tell us to proceed. Also she talked about when making decisions if we consider 2 things: serving God, serving others.....even when we're confused, we'll likely be able to make it.

It was a good weekend, as always to get away and reflect. The other senior from Georgetown in my group had some good times of reflection about work along with the two students from George Washington in my small group. I was glad for the opportunity to go!