Back from up north

Tim arrived safely back from the men's retreat--tired, but refreshed and renewed somehow. He was up till four or so Saturday night (when we were supposed to get an extra hour of sleep), he relished romping in the woods playing paintball and guys marked their territories on trees like dogs, he enjoyed the competition of playing board games during late night hours, and having guy talks.

This is the first time since we've been married that Tim's gone away on a men's retreat, and I think it was really good for him. The theme of the weekend was authenticity, so the guys had a chance to practice being real with each other. Maybe it was easier, somehow, to be real without women around as distractions. Maybe their realness had to do with not showering or shaving for two days. Maybe it had to do with worshiping in a loud, raucous sort of way, praising God perhaps as David did when he danced before the Lord with all his might.

But I'd like to think that, while men need men and women need women, the sexes need each other to really be complete. After being away, the men came home, showered, shaved, and enjoyed time with their wives. Tim seemed very glad to see me (and I was happy to welcome him home). Maybe women have a sort of civilizing influence on men--I know at the women's retreat, most women showered at least once during the weekend.

So, it's good for women to hang with gals, and for the guys to pal around, but when God said, "It is not good for man to be alone," he had woman in mind. It's cool how a husband and wife complete each other--complementing each other with their differences.

But I guess it's also cool to burn off some of that male energy in pursuit of games of competition and victory or defeat. Then they can come home prepared to be peacemakers after playing in the trenches.

Till next time,

Suzi