by Deborah Towles
Synopsis: Experiences gained from camping in the wild closely parallel our spiritual journey. The trip is often full of hard work and risk, but not without great blessings. Before the journey's end, we should develop a longing for our true home.
Our family vacations were camping trips, no luxury RV, posh fifth-wheel, or even utilitarian pop-up camper for us! Tent camping in large groups was our ticket to fun. Our goal: to explore God's wonderful creation and creatures, build bonds of togetherness, experience adventure and return home refreshed. While we always experienced wonder in the face of nature, sometimes it was too close for comfort. The bonds of togetherness were occasionally stretched thin, and our adventures sometimes became misadventures where patience and character were tested. By the end, we (adults in particular) were usually longing for rest at home!
Planning was critical: Choose destination; plan route, research terrain, and its hazards—check. Assemble necessary gear, clothing, and supplies—check. Plan and prepare food, pack more food—check. First aid kit and emergency plans in place—check. Pack essentials first, leave the rest behind. Experience taught us to expect the unexpected, so a sense of humor (perspective) was number one on our list of absolute essentials.
Tent camping can challenge the most enthusiastic adventurers: marauding raccoons pilfering at midnight, sweltering desert sandstorms collapsing tents, venomous snakes, howling coyotes, tents, and occupants sliding down hillsides due to monsoon-like storms. Rain became the family joke. The floor of our tent felt like a waterbed; playground slides became water slides. We talked of hiring ourselves out to camp in drought-stricken areas—rain guaranteed! Adverse conditions tested our ingenuity and patience. We became experts at tarps and trenches. Our sites resembled a hobo encampment, but we were drier than most! The kids rarely lost their excitement and enthusiasm in the face of adversities, but sleep-deprived, grumpy adults could dampen the spirits of the whole camp more quickly than torrential rains. Our youngest son reminisces of puddle parties instead of pity parties, though once these words echoed through the campsite, "I'm never going camping again!" At moments like those, the longing for home was undeniable. These shared misadventures remain the strongest and most colorful threads in the tapestry of memories of those days.
Group camping was a great blessing. Burdens were shared. Experienced eyes were alert for dangers, obvious or camouflaged. Help was near, so panic checked. Challenges were overcome together; life lessons were learned. Recently, one of my brothers brought a foster-teen along on a group hike down a hazardously steep, wet trail. Every child was under the watchful care of a nearby family member. He said to her, "Look around. This is what family does!"
Character matters in the uncivilized wild. We may have chosen to be "in" the wilderness, but we were certainly not "of" the wilderness. We were challenged to rise above the oft-brutal instincts of self-preservation that rule that world. Before our departure, our group was challenged to leave the campground in better condition than we found it; perhaps we were better, too.
Camping in the wild parallels our spiritual journey in many ways. We are on a temporary journey in a vulnerable dwelling in a wonderful, yet perilous, foreign land (Heb. 11:13-16). Have we prepared (Luke 14:25-33)? Do we have the true essentials (Luke 10:38-42)? Are we alert to dangers along the way (Matt. 7:15; Heb. 3:12-13)? Do we use the buddy plan (Heb. 10:23-24; Gal. 6:2) or, in ignorance or arrogance, strike out alone? Are we weary, discouraged and discouraging (Gal. 6:9-10)? Are we "in" but not "of" the wilderness (John 17:11-16)? Do we leave the world a better place for having been here (Matt. 13:33)? Are we longing for and willing to follow the only sure route home (Phil. 1:21-24; 3:14; John 14:6)? Does our heart keep asking, ad infinitum, "Are we there yet?" (John 14:1-3), "Abba, are we there yet?"
Author Bio: Deborah is the wife of Gale Towles who preaches for the State Line Church of Christ in Charlotte, NC. Last June, they celebrated their 41st anniversary. Gale and Deborah have four children and nineteen grandchildren. She can be reached at deboraht@carolina.rr.com.
