Camping Season is Here Again!
It’s spring again! The sun is up longer and the temperatures are warmer. Even I, a person who enjoys rainy days, can’t help but appreciate the warm rays of sunshine that God is sending down on us. But the best part of all of this is that it’s camping season once again! It makes me giddy just thinking about it. I absolutely love camping – there is something about camping that brings people together. I’ve been camping all of my life; ever since I can remember! There is something about getting out of the city, getting out of man’s creation, and getting into God’s creation. Getting to where there is no noise of cars, phones, and what have you, and instead it is just the sound of creation. There is something primal that calls out from there, at least to my soul, something that pulls at my heart. Maybe I get distracted too easily and just need to get away from the distraction more often and let God’s creation, this beautiful picture He has painted, fill me once again.
What’s even better than being filled by this glorious masterpiece is sharing in it with others – especially around the camp fire. My favorite campfires were at a camp Lana and I led back in South Dakota. It was simply called Trail Camp. It was us and a couple of other leaders leading 15 to 20 students ranging from middle school to high school. Trail Camp was a whole week of experiencing God and His creation with students removed from all outside distraction. It was amazing every time to watch God work in the lives of these students lives in such a short time span.
Every night at the campfire we would huddle around and talk. This somehow always led students sharing their life story with the others. By the time they were finished sharing the fire had typically burned down to the coals and embers and somehow the story of their life would turn toward God, asking questions, discussing theological questions together and just enjoying this amazing time of fellowship. These are the very same students that wouldn’t say two hoots or look up from their cell phones prior to coming out to camp, and were now opening up to each other, growing in Christ together. It was a small snapshot of what the church we see it in Acts 2:42-47. These students were breaking bread together, working, worshiping, sharing, praying, laughing and growing together in Christ! So, as you can seem I am rather excited for the camping season because I have a whole new faith family to go camping with now. A new faith family to sit around the campfire with, a new faith family to be in awe of creation with and a new faith family to grow in Christ with and be the church with.