(a reflection during a silent retreat)
by Ely Cotanas
MMP missionary     

I am used to sleeping on a hard bed. Since I came from a rural poor family, we never had a soft bed ever since, so my body knows what a hard bed feels like. Sometimes I also had opportunities to sleep on a soft bed.  But my experience last Mission Ministries Philippines' (MMP) silent retreat in Tagaytay, is something very meaning full and touching.  I desired to sleep on a soft bed all my life.

January 27-29, 2011, MMP missionaries went to Tagaytay for our regular silent retreat.  Regular silent retreats allow each missionary to rest physically and at the same time refresh spiritually.  We stayed in Daughter of Charity, a Catholic retreat house, a very nice place to relax and to commune with Lord, to pray and enjoy the soothing touch of a cooler air because of its higher elevation.

In my room at about 11 o clock one morning , I laid my back on my soft bed.  I felt so comfortable and began to whisper a prayer to God,  “Thank you Lord for my soft bed. ” Suddenly I felt relieved from my aching back, caused by my flat and hard bed back home.

When I had my own wife and four children, we were able to own a good bed.  Our friends also gave us double-deck bed for my children and another bed for my wife and me.  We enjoyed using it for a couple of months until such time, when my wife and I decided to foster a five year-old boy from our church. There was no bed left for me so I slept on floor with my flattened hard bed every night.

This retreat experience helped me understand Psalms 23, “The Lord is my shepherd”.  The verses, “ The Lord is shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet water, He restores my soul, He guides me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake,” became real to me.  The Lord is really my Shepherd.

Soft bed means comfort for me. This reflection during our retreat brought me to a deeper level of my faith in God.  Through the passage of Psalms 23, the Lord reminded me of His promises of providing my basic needs.  I believe the Lord will give me comfort not only in material things but He will also satisfy my deep desire of true intimacy in His presence every day of my life.