Courage Retreat

Story Time: On our courage retreat, we went to the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.  The Gold Medal Mill was destroyed by a horrible fire in 1991 (I think that is the correct date) and was restored and is now a museum reflecting the wonderful history of the Twin Cities and the great industry of wheat milling that fed the world.  The tour was entertaining and fun!  Also, the entire museum smells like freshly baked bread.  That alone won my heart. :)

 

Norma, Mom and I decided a little over a month ago to have a quick getaway to the Twin Cities to just be together and do whatever.  Unfortunately, with such short notice, none of my sisters in-law were able to join us.  In the future, it is my hope that we'll be able to get all of us Gilstrap women together to reconnect and enjoy some time together without the busy noise of daily life.

 

Norma found a few spots that looked interesting to visit, I made all the food in advance and our Mom came ready to fill us with her love, laughter and wisdom.  Norma coined this getaway a "Courage Retreat" to celebrate all the courageous acts we performed throughout the past year.  We sat and discussed what those moments were and how it impacted us for the better.

 

I won't share what Norma and Mom's courageous moments were because that is their business.  I will say that their courage inspires me. For myself, it was giving birth to Michael and being courageous enough to decide to have my tubes tied. Also embarking on the road of helping my body heal and improving the quality and quantity of what I fuel my body with. Setting a goal and preparing to run in races (a somewhat scary thought to me).  And we all seemed to agree that waking up every morning to taking care of my four little ones was courageous enough as it is.

This retreat was exactly what my spirit needed to end February and welcome March.  My goals for February proved to be more emotionally challenging than I anticipated.  Showing love to others is easy for me.  Expressing love towards myself was surprisingly painful.  Thankfully while with Mom and Norma, I felt that just taking the time to be with them gave me space to feel love for the soul that I am and the courage I've been endowed with thrive in life.  

I'm grateful to share blood with these fine women and to claim them as family.  I'm so blessed.

*I'll be sharing more about our trip throughout this week.