I spent sometime this week reading through comments our guests made after their weekend get away with David’s Refuge. As I read them I couldn’t help but think of how proud David would be if he knew the difference his life was making in the lives of so many people. Despite his blindness, disability, and death, David’s love for others and God continues to remind many that they are loved and not alone. David lived his short life on purpose! I want to do the same thing.
Last week I mentioned we started David’s Refuge with three hopes: 1) People’s lives would be changed, 2) David’s story would live on, and 3) God’s extravagant love would be shown and experienced. I hope the following quotes from just a few of our guests will show how our hopes have become a reality. If you are one of the hundreds of people who support and believe in our mission, Brenda and I want to say thank you!
People’s lives would be changed
- We are eternally grateful for the weekend of respite David’s Refuge provided to us. We were able to hit the pause button as parents and get back to basics as husband and wife. We had no idea how desperately we needed a minute to nurture our marriage. Our weekend away afforded us the realization that our strength as a family is deeply rooted in a strong marital foundation, and our foundation needed some tending to. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting couples with similar daily struggles and gained strength from each other when sharing stories. Our hosts, David and Judy, were the kindest, most supportive couple who’s resilience after tragedy demonstrated to us that with hard work and a commitment to each other, we too have much to be thankful for!
- Words can’t even describe how thankful we are that you started such an amazing organization such as David’s Refuge. I think as parents of our kids, it is so easy to lose sight of us and pour all our energy and attention into them. But you have brought that sight back to us. We have remembered this weekend why we fell in love and why we chose each other to share our lives together. You have shown us how important it is to take time out for ourselves; you have re-energized us as a couple. For that, we thank you! You are truly amazing people and are doing a truly amazing thing for couples like us! We needed this!
David’s story would live on
- Sometimes you don’t know how much you really need something until you get it! That was definitely the case with this weekend. Though Tony & I looked forward to it, we needed it more than we were aware! The tension in our body is gone and we are refreshed and looking to get back home to our Marco and his sister, Ava. Thank you for honoring your dear David in a way that extends beyond anything you could have dreamed. We know he was smiling down on us as we enjoyed our time away.
- Thank you will never be enough for what this weekend has done for us. We were able to reconnect, restore, rejuvenate, and just be us again after several years. Every detail of the weekend was well thought out with passion and love. David’s presence of his love for life and others was felt all weekend. Even though we had never met David, it was felt through the belief, the vision and the love from the two of you. So thank you for the wonderful people you are who came into our lives and have such an impact on others. You truly restored our marriage and we can go back to our “loves” at home with a clearer mind and rejuvenated energy.
God’s extravagant love would be shown and experienced
- This is our fifth time writing in this book, but the emotions we have as we write seem to be different every time. Sometimes we needed a place to rest from our crazy life, and David’s Refuge provided that in spades. Sometimes we needed a place to rekindle our relationship, or gain perspective, or break up our routine… or all of the above! This weekend was an “all of the above” kind of weekend. Steve and Gail were amazing hosts. Each couple contributed to our great weekend, and we felt the smile of God from start to finish. Thank you for providing the environment to allow us to be better spouses, parents and people.
- Thank you so much for another wonderful and restoring get away weekend. Bill and I looked forward to it all year because of the wonderful first time experience we shared. The message again about how God loves you, you are not alone and what you do really matters was reinforced on this weekend. We seemed to experience God’s love for us at an even deeper level. It had been another hard year with many low points, but these weekends truly help to remind me that God does have a purpose and a plan in all of this suffering. It is so important to learn to love ourselves and our spouses so we can go home and continue to love our family and to be truly present to them. Thank you for caring enough to care about us. We also loved Melissa & Kevin-they were so wonderful, kind & open. Their story connected us with them and I am so glad they were such an important part of our experience.