LOOK UP!

Last summer I went to family camp in northern Wisconsin with my 13 year old grandson, Jack.  The natural beauty all around us was breathtaking and we enjoyed a magical week together.

The camp was in the woods on a lake - parts of the woods were quite dense. One of our favorite morning activities was to head into the woods, then choose a spot to just sit and listen and BE. Have you ever experienced the coolness, the peace, and the quiet of deep woods? Lovely and serene...

It is an entirely different place at night! The nature director set up a nighttime hike for those brave souls who would.  Families set out together in timed departures to ensure you really were in there with only each other in the dark and quiet (or not so quiet! The critters come out at night!)  The path ahead was marked by distant blue glow sticks hanging from a tree. You could only see one at a time and almost no light was available.

At the outset Jack and I were pretty upbeat and ready for adventure. He scampered ahead of me, teasing Gram about being so tentative. After we passed the first blue glow the path began to take twists and turns and the ground became uneven. The glow seemed to be ahead on the right but we had to go left to get there - sometimes out of view of our only marker. It didn't take long for our excitement to turn to concentration and a little anxiety. I noticed that we were both whispering. We hung pretty close to each other, listening to strange sounds and straining to see the next blue marker.

We got a little disoriented. When you can't really see the ground beneath you, you are unsure of where to put your feet. Both of us laughed nervously as we high stepped over an imagined obstacle in our path or tripped over a tree root completely unseen. We were told the hike would take about a half hour, but we had no idea how long we had been going. We started hoping for the end. In the deepest part of the forest, along with the blue glow stick was a note: "When you are in the darkness, unsure of where to go, stumbling along in uncertainty - know that you are NOT alone. God is with you every step of the way. He is your light, your compass, your safety. Look UP!"

Sure enough, a few steps ahead was an opening in the tree canopy and the summer sky was visible. We had not thought to look up to orient ourselves - although many times along the way there were open spaces where we could have. How often do we miss the markers right in front of us?

The trail ended at the stable. As we got closer we began to recognize the area. We could smell the horses and hear them nickering. We knew EXACTLY how to get home from there. It was familiar and comforting.

There was no talking and laughing around the campfire that night.  Jack and I went down to the lake and sat at the end of the pier, silently processing what we had just felt, learned, and heard in the deepest part of our being.

What darkness has you disoriented?
What obstacle is creating uncertainty and anxiety?
What path marker can you see off in the distance?
What is within you that knows EXACTLY the way home?

Listen. Look around you. Notice what is already in your hand. You are never alone. Look UP!