A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a weekend-long retreat hosted by Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, a movement involving thousands of Jesus-following college students reaching out and ministering to secular campuses all over the US!

Through the retreat, I realized a crucial fact: every Jesus follower in college needs to take a retreat.

Obviously, this might sound very daunting and scary. How does any college student have the time to take a weekend-long retreat? What would one even do for an entire day being disconnected from campus life?

When I say that every Jesus follower needs to take a retreat, I don't mean you need to skip all your classes, ignore your homework, and go out into the wilderness for an entire month.

At its core, a retreat is practical, God-centered, and brings restoration.

Start with taking a practical retreat: all you truly need (in terms of time) is one day, preferably a Saturday or Sunday. Retreating also doesn't mean you have to find the perfect little cabin miles away from campus, either! You can take a "retreat" right where you are! I like to find a quiet spot on campus where I know I will mostly be alone. This allows for that quiet atmosphere for you to "hear God's voice."

For a retreat to be God-centered, obviously you want the goal to be to seek God and hear from Him. That sounds kinda magical, mystical, and straight-up weird. In my own personal terms, I would say "hearing God's voice" simply means taking inventory of where you are at in different areas of your life, praying over that list of areas you may be struggling in or unsure of, digging into the Scriptures to see to look for how those areas are handled and discussed in a Biblical light, and reflecting through more prayer and journaling.

When I take retreats, I emphasize allowing God to guide my thoughts to where He would have me be thinking. I don't overhype the whole "oh yeah, I totally heard this disembodied voice from Heaven that told me x, y, and z." When we are reading the Bible and praying and reflecting, we are allowing our thoughts to be shaped in light of Godly input.

A retreat truly needs to bring restoration. You have your designated time and space, and you're allowing your thoughts to be shaped in light of the Scriptures and through prayer and reflection. This approach, when taken seriously and openly, will lead to restoration. Spending time away from the social noise of dorm/college community life will rest your mind and social energy while giving God your full, undivided attention; it will bring confidence and clarity in how He wants you to live.

All in all, that's the extent to which I can try to sell my fellow college-attending Jesus followers on taking a day to personally retreat. The clarity and restoration that comes as a result of retreating are essential to keeping with the weekly (and daily) college-work grind. I hope that this short guide helps you in making the (correct) decision to take a break from the college life and give some time to allow God to restore and guide you!

For further reading, I recommend the booklet "How to Take a Personal Retreat with God," written by Sally M. Herman.