I am in Fort Collins, Colorado, sixty miles north of Denver. This evening I shall be joining three couples. We shall be the directors of a Marriage Encounter Weekend at Saint Malo Retreat Center in Allenspark, Colorado. This is the second time I have directed an encounter here. High in the mountains and I shall be definitely drinking a lot of water to keep from getting dehydrated.
Each time I present I learn a little bit more about myself... my need to let go of feelings of fear, for example. More and more I am realizing that if I make a mistake in what I am doing, I just need to move on and keep focused on the task.
I remember a few encounters back ending up presenting five minutes of material that did not fit the topic. I had put my materials in the wrong part of the notebook in which I keep my notes. I looked at the couple with whom I was presenting, shrugged my shoulders, and they just moving on, and no one listening to us appeared to notice that my words did not clearly address the issue we were considering.
At the time I was relieved. Later I came to understand that sometimes I blow it and that is okay.
The other notion that is, more and more, becoming more clearly etched on my heart has two points: first, I am not alone, two other people are working very hard to help those attending the Encounter; and second, that the couples attending really do the very hard work of opening up to each other and, in doing so, come to appreciate each other even more.
So...it is morning time here in Fort Collins. I have time to relax, read, write, and pray... and this evening... whatever happens will be exactly what should happen.
Rudy and I managed a respectful detente through most of the morning. But once I got an arm's length away from the lady of the house, AND, Rudy, her proctector, was right there in one smooth Clark Kent to Superman move... no biting, but he barked loud enough to insure that I kept my distance...
