Several highlights from our family retreat this weekend at Campus by the Sea on Catalina:

1. Friday morning Hike: Friday was an incredible day - a real gift from God. The marker on the day was a fun, little hike - “caminatita” - that we took right after breakfast along the beach and up along the ridge. Isa loved it, it was beautiful with the ocean & the clouds, and it really set the tone for a spiritually nourishing day for our family.

2. My study in Job: “God is not a cute pet.” - I’ve been studying Job and spent a chunk of Friday afternoon working through God’s response to Job in chapter 40-41. One of the word’s that spoke to me was God’s self-description via his analogy of the leviathan:

Can you make a pet of [God] like a bird
or put [God] on a leash for the young women in your house?
- Job 41:5, TNIV

In the midst of the confusion that suffering brings, with all of the questions & confusion, God wants Job to know that he is not a caged pet animal. Instead, the impression God gives is more of a wild beast, unpredictable and uncaged by religious formula or spiritual platitudes (more on this later…) As “scary” and uncomfortable it is for us to engage that truth about God in the midst of the new challenges we face as a family, it really spoke to me something of peace and comfort about God.

3. Isabel & the ocean: Honestly, my biggest concern heading into this trip had to do with how Isa would handle the travel over the ocean. Fear turned into laughter with how much she enjoyed sitting in her tiny life jacket bouncing to the motion of the ocean and the rhythm of the waves.

4. Friendship & Jibberish: Westin is Steve & Sarah Jones’ 10 month old son. He was quite a talker, and Isa felt socially engaged by his conversation. It was really beautiful to see the exchange of jibberish that they clearly directed at each other. For two parents that worry about what Isabel’s friendships will be like in the future, this was encouraging.

5. Being away from everything:

Round trip tickets on Catalina Express - $117
Sweatshirt & long-sleeve from camp - $30
Walking out at night to a clear sky & a gleaming bright moon - Priceless

This really made the trip. The sun & the moon & the different tides & the beautiful weather. Enough said.

6. Isabel’s new thumb splint: We had an occupational therapy appointment on Wednesday with Kaiser that was very helpful. The therapist - Arline - is going to write a comprehensive evaluation for us to submit to the regional center to try to get OT services for Isabel to address the sensory integration problems she has.

One of the things that she recommended for Isabel were thumb splints to help her keep her thumbs out & not scruntched under her fingers. She wears them 3 hours at a time and is already more engaged with her hands than she has been before. Yeah.

7. Being togethet as a family: While travelling with a special needs infant isn’t physically restful, the family time and soul rest we received were incredible. We really benefited from the time together away from phones, TV, to-do lists and the speed of life in LA.

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