Did you ever go to summer camp as a
kid? I loved going to summer camp! I was blessed to have been part of several
different camps as a child. Stoney Glenn with Boys Brigade, Camp Good News with
Child Evangelism Fellowship, Beulah Beach with church, Camp Carl with the
Chapel. Camps were awesome! One of my favorite parts of summer vacation was
going to camp!
There is nothing like staying in a
cabin in the woods, getting out into nature and learning about God. One year at
Camp Carl, they wanted to teach us about trust and overcoming fears. So they
took us on different adventures to help us learn these important truths.
The Night Hike was my favorite!
Except the first one haha. We would wait until it was really dark before we
would begin. The leaders lined us up and had each of us hold part of a rope.
Then the leader gathered up all of our flash lights and put them back in the
cabin. “We won’t be needing these!” he said. And then we began our hike into
the woods.
Now I had been all over the woods
in the day light, but have you ever noticed how much it changes in the dark?
There are some pretty awesome things to see in the dark, like the abundance of
fireflies shimmering in the night. However, your imagination can make up a
bunch of other things that aren’t so cool. Like thinking you saw glowing eyes,
or something moved over there, etc.
Having the security of our leaders
and the rope with all or our friends around made for a joyful occasion. Yet we
were in for a big surprise! After walking through an open field illuminated by
the moon and stars, we reentered the woods. This particular part of the path was very dense with trees and we
couldn’t see anything ahead. That is when we stopped abruptly. The leader in
front let go of the rope and disappeared into the darkness. The leader in the
back walked to the front and told us to let go of the rope. He then informed us
that we were going to walk one at a time into the darkness and meet the other
leader.
Now darkness is an interesting
beast. Actually darkness isn’t real, there is no such thing as darkness. It is
merely a description of a lack of light. Light is real, light exists and brings
illumination. Darkness is a measurement of a lack a of light. It is a fearful
thing for most. Stepping out and walking into the darkness felt smothering.
Timidly stepping forward, glancing left and right constantly, listening for the
slightest noise I walked forward. I told myself I was brave and could do this.
I also had imaginations of creepy monsters, werewolves and coyotes devouring
me.
Plunging into the depths led to a
facing of fears and a realization of how much I loved the light. Going forward
I knew my leader was up there somewhere and I couldn’t wait to get to him. Once
there, a feeling of safety and calm returned. When we got back to the cabin, I
was so thankful for my flashlight, for light bulbs and electricity. Having
faced it once, the next time it wasn’t so bad.
The reality is this, we live in a
dark world. It is a fearful and scary place. We are often walk aimlessly down a
dark path and fall prey to our fearful imaginations. However we do not need to
be crippled by this for we have a leader just ahead of us. Jesus is our Savior
and Redeemer and He is the Light of the world! He is the one who brings hope
and safety and He calls us to step out in faith and walk in the Light. No
matter what are surroundings or how dark it is, when we focus on our leader
just ahead, we can overcome anything!
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