I have recently returned from a trip to Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina, for the PCCCA (Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association) Annual Meeting. I hadn’t truly grasped what Montreat was as a whole. I had no idea that there was a college on the property and that it is more of a mountain village than a conference center. The past few months at Ferncliff I was waiting with anticipation for the day of the trip to come. For once I didn’t care about the journey so much as the destination itself. I had a fantastic room, wonderful food, made great connections, heard some great speakers, and experienced my first Swag Swap! My first night there was my birthday and I couldn’t have been given any better gift than fellowship with camp professionals. I am now a third generation Montreat guest. Of course the place has changed over the decades from when my father and grandfather visited the property. Time has a way of changing things.

As with any Presbyterian gathering, there is always an agenda. I didn’t have to worry about what I would do with my time because there was already a nice schedule telling me where I needed to be and when. I thank the person/s that piece together schedules so that I don’t have to think about it. My only task was to choose the best workshops and get to the dining room in time for meals.

With everything so well planned out, you’d think that it would be easy to find time for rest and time for God. Yes, we had “worship” time and free time mapped out, but I had to figure out how I was going to spend that time. I just decided to do something when I felt like it. As with most places I go, I made the place my home and explored areas that others forget about. I spoke to the support staff, local residents, talked to other camp people, and sometimes took a nap! But I also made time for alone time with God.

James 4:14 reminds us, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” We can’t have more time, but we can live with a greater awareness of the limited time we do have. Every opportunity that arrives on your doorstep will require some decision. If you’ve already decided what you value, you can fully enjoy each moment, secure that you’re living the life you want. What is the value of your time? Who you give your time to says a lot about what you find important. How do you spend your time with God? And how do you measure what your time is worth? These are some of the questions/thoughts that come into my head when I spend time with God.

I recently began reading a book called “The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts,” by Gary Chapman. It is an interesting read. Learning about your personality enables you to understand a bit more of yourself and how you interact with the world/universe around you. I find that my primary love language is quality time. And though the book is focused on a relationship with a partner/spouse, it made me think of my relationship with God and others around me. The best way for me to connect to God is to spend quality time with God. You may need a different way of connecting, but quality time and communication is what I need. How can I know God if I do not seek a relationship with Him?

You are probably wondering how PCCCA, Montreat, time and God relate to Ferncliff. Well, without God I would not be at Ferncliff. And no matter how full our agendas may get there must always be time to connect to God. At the PCCCA conference, hosted at Montreat Conference Center, I found time to connect to God in a wonderfully thin place. And a “thin place,” is anywhere that you can feel a bond with God. If God is with me wherever I go, then everywhere I go is a “thin place.”