Let me start by saying that your dreams are not random. They were given to you for a reason. If there is a yearning in your heart that just won't let go, you can be certain that it is connected to your soul's purpose.

Think of it as an invitation the Universe (God, Source, Spirit) is handing you. If you say yes to the invitation, you can be sure that you will be guided and supported every step of the way (although it might not always feel like it). Indeed, there may be detours and dark days along your path. However, when you have the faith to say "yes" to the invitation (no matter how far-fetched it might seem to some) and trust that you are being guided and supported, well, miracles happen.

Sometimes they are the great-big-wow-I can't-believe-that-just-happened kind of miracles, but most of the time they are small, even invisible to those who are not specifically looking for them...and yet, tiny miracles can be mighty and usher in powerful changes. They affirm that we are going the right direction and remind us that we don't have to do it alone.

I've been wanting to share a little of my story over the past year with you. For me, even with all the darkness, last year also brought blessings, light and yes..many tiny miracles.

A few years ago Sheri Eckert and I began envisioning and dreaming up the most soul nourishing, juicy spiritual retreats we could imagine. Sheri and I shared a passion for for travel to exotic places, for sisterhood, healing and spiritual growth and Seeking Sacred Journeys was the syntheses of all of it. It was our baby and we couldn't wait to birth her into the world.

Then, in the end of 2019 with a combination of optimism, faith and giddy joy, we launched our women's retreat company Seeking Sacred Journeys . The website was finished, we had reserved our first venue at the world renown Blue Spirit retreat center in Costa Rica and I flew out to Portland for a week of creative brainstorming. We worked with passion and excitement to craft a life-changing journey which we dubbed "Reclaiming the Sacred Self"....it felt right....but little did we know how just how necessary it would become.

When I flew to India a few weeks later I had never heard of Covid-19, but had seen a few headlines about a "new flu" outbreak in China. After I came down with a terrible cough, Sheri was worried I might have contracted it. I remember laughing it off but spending 3 weeks with a fever and horrible, dry hacking cough. I recovered. Many did not.

And so began a year unlike any we have known in recent history. Heartbreak and loss for far too many. Borders closed. Businesses shuttered. Jobs uncertain. A world on hold. And for Sheri and me, a year of tensely following the infection rates on the ground in Costa Rica, staying on top of the latest travel restrictions, protocols and advisories, anxious scheduling and rescheduling, all the while marveling at what appeared to be the worst timing (ever) to launch a travel company. Even this did not deter us. We smiled, understanding deeply that all unfolds in perfect Divine timing and if our retreat was meant to wait, then wait it would.

By November 2020 we'd all endured massive changes and experienced different degrees of suffering, both individually and collectively. Fear was palpable. Travel was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Other retreats were shuttering their doors and waiting out the storm. And still, in the face of logic, Sheri and I took a deep breath, listened inwardly...and knew we could not see the greater plan (in which we were playing are own small part), yet we could both sense that we were being guided to continue. Well, most of the time. At other moments we cried. We agonized over the "right" thing to do. We wrestled with moral and financial implications of our decision. We lost sleep and even friends who thought we were being irresponsible and not taking the spread of the virus seriously.

And then in December less than two months before we were scheduled to fly to Costa Rica, everything changed yet again. My dear friend and partner, Sheri, left her body peacefully while she slept. Sheri's time on the physical realm had closed its circle. I was heartbroken, but felt some peace knowing that in earlier years Sheri had experienced a near death experience during which she vividly remembered being offered the choice to stay in the heavenly realm - or to return to her life on the physical plane. At that time she chose to return to a life that was full of hardship and pain. Knowing the circumstances of her early life I am still awed that she willingly returned. But, through an unyielding faith and courageous spirit, she eventually overcame her current life circumstances, transmuting darkness into light and grew into a teacher, a healer and a beacon of love.

She spread her inspirational message through her writing on a New Way of Thinking and Dear Human and served as the Executive Director of Innerwork Portland where she offered Psycho-Spiritual Counseling in private and group practice. Sheri’s life was a testimonial to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Her passing was a devastating shock for her family, her friends and for me. We had all lost the presence of a truly beloved being and the absence she left in our lives was profound. I couldn’t help but think that this time, perhaps, her soul had made the choice to stay in that beautiful, invisible realm of light and love that each of us return to -- and perhaps that meant her work here was finished after all.

Still, I felt adrift, without my mentor and guiding rudder. Surely this had to be a sign it was time to give up on our shared dream? Maybe we had misunderstood the signs and had ignored the obvious? I mean we were in the middle of a worldwide pandemic after all. Maybe that deep knowing we had felt was more wishful thinking than it was spirit’s guiding hand?

I mourned the loss of my cherished friend and for what I feared meant the end of our shared dream. Then I did the one thing that has never failed me, the thing I knew Sheri would have suggested, I prayed. And I prayed some more. I asked for Divine guidance. I asked for signs. I asked for help.

I asked Sheri to speak to me…to tell me what to do, asked her why she had left…and I felt (more than heard) her gentle laughter and the whisper of a simple message, “It’s your turn” she said. I was suddenly thrust into a leadership role that I did not feel ready to take on. Sheri was supposed to do that part of the retreat...and I was comfortable knowing that I could safely hide in her shadow. “You never needed me” Sheri assured me and promised she’d be there with me every step of the way.

Then a small miracle occurred, another dear friend, Angela McKinney, a trauma and mindset coach, agreed to step in at the last minute and lead the “mind” sessions for our “body, mind and spirit” three-tiered program. Angela dreaded flying and had two young boys at home, and her willingness to step up, no questions asked, left me humbled and grateful.

And, one-by-one, more little miracles occurred. Even in the midst of a feared “second wave” our retreat began to fill up. It sold out and I requested more rooms. It sold out again. In the end we had 28 women and 4 teachers who came together on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. After being tested for Covid upon arrival, we were able to throw off our masks, and laugh and dance, swim and even hug. Now that really was a miracle.

The retreat itself was a reflection of all that Sheri embodied — sisterhood, celebration of the sacred and realization of the infinite potential within each of us to overcome hardship and heal even the deepest of wounds.

The fact that 28 women from all over the world flew to Costa Rica in the middle of a world wide pandemic and were able to breathe deeply, cry, share, support one another and connect with nature, was for me, the truest kind of miracle. Each woman had her reason for being there and each of them shared their own improbable journey with me. I had no doubt that it was Sheri’s gentle encouragement and subtle nudges that called just the right women to just the right place, at just the right moment, to receive just what they needed most.

In the end, the timing was perfect. Our retreat was needed one year later more than it ever would have been prior to the shut-down. It became more than a vacation, it was a necessity of self care - and for many of the women the timing was in perfect synchronicity with their own life struggles and challenges. What we created with our hearts and spirits was needed and I believe that is why the calling felt so strong and why our faith never wavered (well, it wavered but it never broke).

Here are some photos from Costa Rica:

I know Sheri would have rejoiced in the magic of it all. I am certain that her spirit infused every moment of the retreat and that her love touched each of the women who gathered together in Costa Rica that first week of March in 2020. Sheri gave generously of her heart and soul while she was here in her physical form and I received many gifts from her. Perhaps the greatest was what I gained from the loss of her…the faith to trust in the power of a dream and to believe that when we’re working in alignment with our highest purpose, in co-creation with the Divine, that even in the face of seemingly impossible odds, miracles really do happen.

I offer this little story to you in the hopes that you might glean a spark of inspiration or feel emboldened to continue believing in the power and beauty of your own dreams and to validate that when you feel a calling in your heart and your inner knowing insists this is something you have to do...that this feeling is real and it is being offered to you to support your growth, your healing and your purpose (whether or not it makes sense to anyone else, you can trust in YOUR plan). Your dreams hold the key to unlocking your purpose and stepping into the highest and greatest expression of who were born to be (who you already are but have forgotten).

So please, no matter what obstacles you may be facing, trust in the deepest truth that you carry in your heart. Trust that gentle guidance from within that you are on the right path. And please don’t give up.

Love and light,

Rebecca

PS. Sheri’s spirit lives in the heart of our mission, and the passion of our purpose at Seeking Sacred Journeys. We love her and miss her everyday. If you'd like to read the last piece she wrote for us you can find it HERE .

Sheri Eckert, Co-Founder,

Seeking Sacred Journeys was first envisioned by Sheri Eckert as a means to fulfill her lifelong love of helping others to heal and expand their awareness of their innate Divinity and infinite potential. When she was with us in physical form, she acted as an inspiration and guiding light for many. She dedicated her life to service as a Professional Counselor, Public Speaker, and the Chief Petitioner of Oregon’s historic and globally acknowledged 2020 PSI Ballot Initiative.

She spread love and light through her writing on a New Way of Thinking and Dear Human and served as the Executive Director of Innerwork Portland where she offered Psycho-Spiritual Counseling in private and group practice. We miss and love her greatly….but know that wherever in the cosmos her travels have taken her, she is dancing with the stars and continuing to shine brightly.