The Father's Embrace

I just returned home from two weeks of working on building an EPIC treehouse at the Revel ministry in Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado, with my husband Eric. You can see in the picture above the crow's nest on the far right, the gathering room in the middle and the view room on the left.

Why build a treehouse? What resonates with me is experiential learning.

There is something magical about a treehouse that helps you forget the weight of the world and you become childlike again. But more importantly, we can’t just think about God and know Him. We need to experience Him. We need to sense Him, to hear His voice, to see His creation, to be awestruck by something He has done. We need our body to experience Him, not just our mind.

I returned a week later to a woman’s retreat at the Revel ranch and got to experience one use of the treehouse, The Father’s Embrace. You don’t need to be there to experience it-God will meet you in your imagination. Picture the top tower in the treehouse, the Crows Nest. It is three stories high and looks out over the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park and other snow covered mountain ranges. At the top, looking across at the Aspens, Conifers, wildflower meadows as well as those mountains, you understand deep in your being, “There is a Creator”. That is experiential learning, seeing.

To receive the Father’s Embrace, you begin to climb to the Crow’s Nest. You walk up the stairs, winded because you are at altitude, but also because you are coming with excitement, perhaps nervousness and definitely anticipation. You look out at God’s creation in amazement.

At the top, a man and a woman greet you, representing both the male and female characteristics of God, making the full complement of God. You look out at God’s creation, then you are embraced by the man and woman, God’s representatives. They hug you and hold you and receive you-Just AS YOU ARE. There is nothing you can do or need to do to make Him love and accept you more. You just receive the embrace.Today is about accepting His powerful embrace-you don't get to hug back-that can be for another day. As you stand in the embrace, the man and woman simultaneously say “You are embraced by His love and delight!” You just leave whatever you are carrying behind and just experience His Embrace. Receive what He has given to you.

As you descend, you know that you understand God’s love in a new experiential way- you have had an encounter with God.

I pray you also can feel His unconditional love and look for ways to experience Him in your life.

Anne L.