I urgently needed spiritual CPR. Only a few months into our first foster placement, fatigue defined my days and fear plagued my nights. For the toddler boys in our home, nighttime was frightening and filled with dark memories of past trauma and neglect. They suffered from night terrors compounded by severe sleep apnea. Exhaustion set in. The weight of holding their pain felt heart-crushing, and I struggled to trust in God’s provision and plan for their future. I could hardly breathe. I desperately needed some soul-care to refresh my spirit.
In desperation, I reached out to a mom a little farther along in her foster care journey. Instead of critiquing my parenting or offering quick advice, she gently encouraged me to take a deep breath and plan a soul care retreat: To turn off my phone, set aside my to-do list. To rest, pray, linger in God’s Word, and tend to my soul.
A Soul Care Retreat and a Perspective Shift
I came away from that first retreat with renewed hope and a shift in my perspective—a first deep breath. Our family’s circumstances hadn’t changed, and we were still navigating the challenges and heartbreak of foster care and adoption. But I was reminded how rest and refreshment were available in God’s Word and through prayer. I planned simple soul care rhythms to implement at home: Keeping my Bible and journal near the breakfast table, writing out a few Scripture-based prayers to post at my sink, and asking my mentor mom to regularly pray with and for me. Thirteen years and five adoptions later, practicing regular soul care rhythms, partnered with longer retreats, still helps me breathe in His Presence and peace.
And as for those little boys, as their case moved from foster care to adoption, we received approval for adenoid and tonsil surgery to help them breathe easier. Our four-year-old went first, comforted by the promise of popsicles and a slumber party in our guest room. This intense boy, who rarely slept and who struggled to give and receive safe physical touch, relaxed in my arms and slept peacefully through the night. I woke to his hands cupping my face: “I LOVE YOU! You took care of me when I was sick and hurting. You love me, and I love you!”
Sweet rest allows us to give and receive love—to breathe.
An Invitation to Take a Soul Care Retreat
To the foster and adoptive momma sacrificially serving children in crisis: Imagine Jesus lovingly cupping your face and gently inviting you, His precious daughter, to come away with Him and rest.
Beloved Sister, the Spirit of God made you; the breath of the Almighty gives you life (Psalm 33:6). Come away for a few hours of soul care to just breathe!
A Guide to Creating Your Own Soul Care Retreat
Approach this retreat guide as gentle suggestions from a fellow foster momma. This is not a task list or mandatory assignment. The suggested activities are time-tested spiritual disciplines meant to breathe life into your soul.
Prepare: Make Space to Breathe
For my soul care retreats, I pack a small retreat bag so I can be intentional instead of doomscrolling, answering emails, or listlessly flipping through my Bible. A few simple supplies and favorite treats help me slow down and enjoy each breath of my time away.
Here are a few suggestions for preparing for a soul care day:
- Schedule a soul care day. This retreat is designed for three to four hours, including travel time. If that feels impossible in this season, set aside a few mini retreats over a week or two and complete one section at a time.
- Select a location that is life-giving and restful.
- Enlist help with the kids, meals, and daily tasks.
- Pack a soul care retreat kit:
- Bible
- Journal
- Favorite pen or pencil
- Music
- Candle and lighter
- Favorite beverage and a yummy snack
- Soul care retreat guide
- Plan a relaxing activity to do, and bring any needed supplies
- Pray over the time away.
The Day of the Soul Care Retreat
Beloved Sister, I invite you into soul care and sweet rest. May the Breath of God fill you and sustain you. May you come away from this time refreshed.
1) Relax: Catch Your Breath
Once you arrive at the retreat location, dedicate the first hour to relaxing. Choose something that will help quiet both heart and mind.
A few suggestions: Take a slow walk, savor a cup of tea or coffee, read a favorite book, write a note to a loved one, listen to music, stretch, create something beautiful, or take a nap. Relax and catch your breath!
2) Rest: Breath Prayers
The next sections focus on prayer and God’s Word: A chance to exhale stress, fears, and expectations and inhale truth and life.
Our first soul care practice is Breath Prayer: a Scripture-based meditative prayer offered to God in the rhythm of relaxed breathing. Focus both mind and heart on these truths from Scripture, and silently pray this prayer from Psalm 33:20 while breathing deeply:
Inhale and pray: I wait in hope for my LORD.
Exhale and pray: He is my help and shield.
When fears or doubts creep, repeat this Breath Prayer.
3) Refresh: Breathe In God’s Word
Our next soul care practice will be to seek refreshment by breathing in and studying God’s Word.
Light a candle and pray: Breath of Life, I believe that Your Spirit has made me and that Your breath gives me life (Job 33:4). I believe Your Word is right and true. You are faithful in all You do (Psalm 33:4). I light this candle as a symbol of my trust and my commitment to letting Your Word light my way today. Amen.
Read Psalm 33 slowly and out loud.
Underline or write out any verses that resonate.
4) Recover: A Breath of Fresh Air
As God’s Word seeps into broken and weary places, take a few minutes to recover by caring for your body.
A few suggestions: stand up and stretch, step outside and enjoy the sunshine, take a walk, sip a favorite drink, or eat a yummy snack.
5) Respond: “Sing His breath back to Him”
Responding to God through praise is our next soul care practice.
Poet Andy Patton wrote a beautiful rendition of Psalm 33 in the Darkling Psalter.
Read and linger over his poem in its entirety, then pause and reflect on this line:
At his word, the heavens shook
And the whole star-raftered cathedral
Sang his breath back to him.
Journal a response by composing a psalm of personal praise. Sing His breath back to Him!
6) Reset: Healthy Spiritual Rhythms
To make space for soul care recovery in everyday life, pray, dream, and journal about regular rhythms that could breathe life into this season.
A few questions to consider journaling:
- What time of day could I most use a moment of rest?
- Who can I ask to pray for me during my most challenging time of day?
- Who can I enlist (my hubby, my bestie, my big kiddos) to help me get a few minutes of daily rest?
- Are there any soul care practices from today’s retreat that I want to integrate into my regular rhythms of rest and renewal?
7) Re-entry: Preparing to Transition Home
Prepare to transition home by praying for each family member.
Close with this prayer from Psalm 33:
You spoke and created the heavens.
You breathed the Word, and all the stars were born.
My heart rejoices in You, because I trust in Your Holy Name.
Let Your unfailing love surround me, Lord, for my hope is in You alone. Amen.
Take one last deep breath and blow out the candle.
Further Reading on Soul Care
- Patton, Andy. “Psalm 33—At His Word, the Heavens Shook and the Whole Star Raftered Cathedral Sang His Breath Back to Him.” Substack.com, The Darkling Psalter, 18 Dec. 2024, darklingpsalter.substack.com/p/psalm-33at-his-word-the-heavensshook.
- Pryor, Alyson. Come Away and Rest. InterVarsity Press, 2026.
- Tucker, Jennifer. Breath as Prayer. Thomas Nelson, 2022.
© 2026 La Né Powers. Used with Permission
