The Restory Retreat Centre

Contemplative Gathering 2026   We warmly invite you to the second Contemplative Gathering in Wakkerstroom.   From Belonging to Life   Last year, we discovered together what it means to belong—to find a restful home for the soul in God’s presence and with one another. This year, we move deeper into the fruit of that homecoming: Fully alive.   What does it mean to be truly alive in a world that so often overwhelms, numbs, or pulls us away from the present moment?   The Path of Presence   Christian contemplative spirituality is not an escape from life, but a journey into deep engagement with it. It is the intentional choice to become still, to quiet the noise, and to be present to the Eternal with an open heart. Here, we discover that the Spirit does not merely call us to survival or duty, but to an abundant, conscious life.   In the shared silence, the exchanging of stories, and the restful rhythm of the weekend, we rediscover the pulse of this ancient, ...

For The New Year (For the original photo - thank you to our friend Ben) Looking back, it was, among other things, Rilke’s year. Here at Die Restory we have talked about him, he has often surfaced in our reflections on something and he was brought in on a few occasions to serve in the Opening and Closing Prayers of our meditations. He speaks our language. And hopefully, over time, he has influenced our voice.   Against that backdrop, and with the gathering of bits and pieces of Rilke here and there, our message to you here at The Restory:     In The Doorway Of A New Year (With thanks to Rainer Maria Rilke)   At the turning of the year, we are invited not to rush ahead, but to live the questions a little longer.   To trust that what is unfinished, what feels unclear or tired, may still be quietly at work within us.   The new year does not ask for answers, only for presence. For a willingness to stay close to what is real — to the rhythms of...

  'n Week Later Met al ons liefde. George & Matilda

October 2025 Progress Report “The only journey is the one within. But sometimes the outer places - the houses we rebuild, the gardens we tend - mirror that inward journey and carry us further along.” Rainer Maria Rilke                        “A house that has been lived in, that has weathered storms, can be lived in again. Its strength is a kind of love, holding those who come after.” May Sarton                                                  “May your home always be a place of refuge,  a place where the weariness of the world  can fall away,  and the heart can find rest.” John O'Donohue                                              With our love. George & Matilda  

  Oktober 2025 Vorderingsverslag “The only journey is the one within. But sometimes the outer places - the houses we rebuild, the gardens we tend - mirror that inward journey and carry us further along.” Rainer Maria Rilke                        “A house that has been lived in, that has weathered storms, can be lived in again. Its strength is a kind of love, holding those who come after.” May Sarton                                                  “May your home always be a place of refuge,  a place where the weariness of the world  can fall away,  and the heart can find rest.” John O'Donohue                                              Met ons liefde. George & Matilda...

Inleiding  Ons begin hierdie week met 'n  nuwe faset van ons werk hier by Die Restory - gesprekke rondom sake en temas wat vir ons belangrik is, wat ons baie op ons lewensreis gehelp het, of wat hulself net op allerlei maniere aanmeld. Ons sal baie graag wil hoor wat julle, ook as gespreksgenote, daarvan dink, so lewer asseblief kommentaar in die ruimte wat hier op die blog daarvoor beskikbaar is. Voorstelle is ook baie welkom. Indien jy sou verkies om dit eerder per e-pos te doen, stuur dit na gnangus@gmail.com. Ons plaas 'n skakel na ons videos en ander stukke op die blog ook op The Restory Retreat Centre se Facebook blad. Indien jy ons daar sou volg, sal 'n kennisgewing outomaties deurkom sodra ons iets hier op die blog plaas.  Baie dankie vir jul groot aandeel aan ons werk!

I'm on a quest to get back my creative flow that somehow got buried alive by all that seem to have priority over my creative endeavors.  I tend to do that with things that feel like play.  As we have come to realize, living a simple life, does not mean that it is an easy or leisurely life. On the contrary; no packets of frozen veggies or ready made meals await us when we come in from the studios. It is the life we chose and prefer but it is very easy to lose sight of what our main aim is. To live contemplatively, with creativity, silence and nature as our nurturers, and to create a place where people can come to recharge and be restored. So when I get to the stage that I feel completely stunted, especially where my writing is concerned, I have to allow the laundry to wait until tomorrow and feed my starved inner artist. The diet is simple but shows immediate results:  What I need is sparks. Tiny morsels of seemingly insignificant happenings that sets the gears i...

Matilda and I discovered contemplative spirituality, as an element of the age-old Christian mystical tradition, in our middle ages. “Discover” is probably not the right word. We grew into it, it grew on and in us, through our reading we were gently and graciously guided and called into it, our religious disillusionments and disappointments and the longing for the more led us to it, very difficult periods in our lives and emotional crisis prepared us for it and almost made it inevitable. As is the case with so much in this type of spirituality it is shrouded in mystery and paradox. To such an extent that you find that the phrase No one catches the wild ass by running,  and yet only those who run ever catch the wild ass. exactly expresses what has happened, without clarifying it at all. I probably use the word “discover” to describe the process, because it says something of the fact that this was not a tradition we were familiar with or were exposed to in our...