For Mother's Day this year, my husband gave me one of those priceless gifts: the gift of time. The idea was that I would go away for two days and night to a retreat center. I'd have endless hours to think and pray and journal and get my spiritual house in order. Then the reality of being a nursing mother returned, so I'm now just going to have two daylong retreats within a mile of our house and sleep at home.

On the one hand, the thought of two days and something like twenty hours of personal time couldn't be more welcome. I am already dreaming of long walks and avoiding the internet and sitting in the sunshine reading a book and praying without the distractions of our family all around... On the other hand, what on earth am I going to do with myself for two days alone?

If this were a chance to get organized, I'd be all over it. There's the stack of papers that need to be filed and the clothes that Marilee has outgrown. There are the baby books that need to be filled with memories and the phone calls about Penny's kindergarten next year. Top it all off with the fact that the galleys for my upcoming book are due next Wednesday, which I had planned as the second day of the retreat.

But the time I've been given is not a chance to get organized or to be productive or to cross items off my to do list. It's a chance to listen and pray and rest. It's a time to ask questions. It's a time to be still. It is a time to trust that God will meet me and speak to me and guide me. It is a time to discover a thin place.

If you had two days at the spiritual spa–what would you do? Would you read something specific? Would you make a plan for the time? What advice do you have for me?