Cheer Up. You Could be Camping

Camping has long been one of my great loves. I've coupled that passion to ministry on more than one occasion, sometimes with interesting results. Sometime in the late 1990's, I took some teenaged boys backpacking to a state park near San Antonio and learned some valuable lessons along the way.

My neighbors have come to appreciate my camping ways. Not that they usually camp with me (A couple of them did, once. Only once. I wonder why.....?). They are happy for me to go camping because of the meteorological impact. When they see me loading up the car (at that time it was a station wagon) for a foray into the wilderness they quickly fertilize their yards, knowing that a thunderstorm can’t be far away.

One of my more memorable excursions occured when I took a trip with a gaggle of boys - my sons Ben and Zach and their friends Micah Johnson and Nels Jacobson. The thunderstorm held off until after camp was set up and dinner cooked and eaten. Then, “the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the sky opened.” Noah had nothing on us.

We survived the night with no major disasters. Just minor ones. A night that began with two occupied tents ended with one unoccupied (something about a river running through it). Soggy sleeping bags added an element of fellowship none of us had expected. Fortunately, it was so cold we scarcely noticed that we were wet all night long.

The night was miserable, but the next day dawned bright and clear. We enjoyed a great breakfast, had a great hike and saw some beautiful country. All in all, it turned out to be a great campout. But, it was almost the campout that wasn’t......

You see, for a few days before the campout, the weather service had been predicting major thunderstorms for the night of our overnighter. This was no surprise storm. We all knew it was coming. Having camped in the rain a few times, I knew what we were in store for and was ready to can the trip. I polled my camping buddies in advance, but everyone of them wanted to go, no matter what the weather forecasters were saying. What did they know? They were only teenagers. I went from them to one of my mature friends, Bob Robison (an experienced camper) the night before we left. I told him my misgivings about camping in the face of a predicted weather event. His comment left me speechless. Rational, reasonable Bob said, “You’ve been planning a camping trip for three months and you’re thinking about canceling because of rain? Go!” So, we went, not knowing if my life insurance policy covered stupidity - and we had the time of our lives.

My reflections on our campout lead me to make several observations about myself. See if this shoe fits.

One, I notice how often I seek to orchestrate life, thinking that with enough planning I can enjoy sunny days without stormy nights? False theology. Heresy. Good planning is important, but stormy nights are a part of the program. Storms are not to be avoided at all costs.

Two, how often do I opt for what I think is guaranteed safety when avoiding risk means running from life itself? Risk - financial, relational, health etc..... - is everywhere I go. To eliminate risk is to live a shallow life. God calls me away from the safe, sandy banks and into the middle of the river where the current runs strong.

Three, how often do I so fear the worst that might come my way - the water in the tent, the cold night, the soggy sleeping bag - that I avoid the potentially unpleasant situation altogether and miss the accompanying blessing. The reality is that had we not gone camping on that awful night, we would not have enjoyed one of the finest Hill Country days I have ever experienced and the five of us would not have bonded the way we did.

God doesn’t call us to stupidity or to go out of our way to encounter hardship. It does seem to me, though, that He calls us to not avoid storms at all costs, to be willing to enter risky places and to understand that He uses hardship for our good. James’ words come to mind: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2-3)