Everyone got into camp and put up tents and beds before dark. It was a hard day of driving and it felt good to stretch out on an air mattress and listen to the cicada singing in the tall trees. No one was awake long.
Sleeping in the woods is done between dark and sunrise. The smell of campfires perfume the air with coffee and bacon. It was still early when Jake and Kevin began exploring the campground boundaries. For Hannah this place was nostalgic, and exciting because she hadn’t been here in seven years. For Jake and Kevin it was exciting because they had never been here.
“We want to go on a hike!” Well, we had been talking about hiking; about how to manage time in four short days to have as many experiences as possible. This was the first morning and they wanted to explore the woods around the campground.
“ I know a short nature trail here in the campground. It is an easy one mile loop; half mile up the knob, half mile down.”
Of course Cheyenne had to come along. At five years old she was a better hiker than some already, and she had a different list of things to bring. One bottle of water, which someone else would carry, and her special toy, a fingerling monkey named Valentina.
Half mile walk up the knob, stopping twice to rest. The second half was all down the hill. It was near the bottom where Hannah asked Cheyenne, “Where is your fingerling toy?”
Cheyenne began to panic. Jake and Kevin tried to console her by assuring her that they would hike the trail again later and probably find the toy, but she wanted something to happen now! Valentina couldn’t be left alone in the woods!
It was obvious no one wanted to traverse the uphill climb again. Not right now. This was real to Cheyenne! She had walked up and down the same ridge and she would gladly do it again if someone would go with her. This was too important to just give up because you are tired. She was just too young to go alone.
“I’ll see you all back at camp.”
And the old man turned and stepped briskly up the slope they had just descended until he was out of sight. The idea was to trace backward each step and search the trail for that little blue plastic monkey. Up, up, up the hill; breathing harder every step, interrupting the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling only long enough to utter a small short prayer.
“Lord, please help me find that little blue monkey!”
Shannon was always losing things and whenever she did she would always say this little prayer and then whatever she was searching for would turn up! Crazy small things like the diamond stone in her wedding ring that are hard to see! She always credits that little prayer for the recovery of things lost. If it works for Shannon, then it couldn’t hurt.
What an old man needs after walking a mile and half up and down the hill and getting the heart rate up is a short rest. The prayer that had been repeated during the ascent had been replaced by an internal beckoning to stop. Relax. Rest a moment and reorient yourself.
Coming down the last half mile were the two places where the group had stopped to rest on the way up. The second was on a one hundred eighty degree bend in the trail. A good place to rest against a tree and see the trail ahead and behind. A good place except looking down the trail the sun was breaking through the trees and illuminating the opening in the forest with brilliant light like some throne room description in the Bible. And there it was! At first just a silhouette outlined against the sunlight, and with each deep breath the eyes began to focus until it was clearly Valentina! Not on the ground but hanging by her crooked tail on a branch of a sapling where Cheyenne had placed her to rest earlier! “Thank you God!”
Cheyenne was playing near the tents when Grandaddy appeared from across the camp site. The other hikers had moved on to the next great adventure-ice cream and souvenir shopping at the camp store. Cheyenne kept staring as Grandaddy came closer and there was this magical moment when she first saw it. In his hand was Valentina. That little blue fingerling! Her first glimpse wasn’t enough but after a second or two it became reality! It really was!
Cheyenne made up a song that night about her day, and about hiking in the woods, and about how Velentina got lost and how her Grandaddy saved the day! It was a good song. It was a good day to be Grandaddy!
Rest and reflection can help us catch our breath and reorient and often that is all we need to gain a new perspective on things. And it never hurts to pray!
Sleeping in the woods is done between dark and sunrise. The smell of campfires perfume the air with coffee and bacon. It was still early when Jake and Kevin began exploring the campground boundaries. For Hannah this place was nostalgic, and exciting because she hadn’t been here in seven years. For Jake and Kevin it was exciting because they had never been here.
“We want to go on a hike!” Well, we had been talking about hiking; about how to manage time in four short days to have as many experiences as possible. This was the first morning and they wanted to explore the woods around the campground.
“ I know a short nature trail here in the campground. It is an easy one mile loop; half mile up the knob, half mile down.”
Of course Cheyenne had to come along. At five years old she was a better hiker than some already, and she had a different list of things to bring. One bottle of water, which someone else would carry, and her special toy, a fingerling monkey named Valentina.
Half mile walk up the knob, stopping twice to rest. The second half was all down the hill. It was near the bottom where Hannah asked Cheyenne, “Where is your fingerling toy?”
Cheyenne began to panic. Jake and Kevin tried to console her by assuring her that they would hike the trail again later and probably find the toy, but she wanted something to happen now! Valentina couldn’t be left alone in the woods!
It was obvious no one wanted to traverse the uphill climb again. Not right now. This was real to Cheyenne! She had walked up and down the same ridge and she would gladly do it again if someone would go with her. This was too important to just give up because you are tired. She was just too young to go alone.
“I’ll see you all back at camp.”
And the old man turned and stepped briskly up the slope they had just descended until he was out of sight. The idea was to trace backward each step and search the trail for that little blue plastic monkey. Up, up, up the hill; breathing harder every step, interrupting the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling only long enough to utter a small short prayer.
“Lord, please help me find that little blue monkey!”
Shannon was always losing things and whenever she did she would always say this little prayer and then whatever she was searching for would turn up! Crazy small things like the diamond stone in her wedding ring that are hard to see! She always credits that little prayer for the recovery of things lost. If it works for Shannon, then it couldn’t hurt.
What an old man needs after walking a mile and half up and down the hill and getting the heart rate up is a short rest. The prayer that had been repeated during the ascent had been replaced by an internal beckoning to stop. Relax. Rest a moment and reorient yourself.
Coming down the last half mile were the two places where the group had stopped to rest on the way up. The second was on a one hundred eighty degree bend in the trail. A good place to rest against a tree and see the trail ahead and behind. A good place except looking down the trail the sun was breaking through the trees and illuminating the opening in the forest with brilliant light like some throne room description in the Bible. And there it was! At first just a silhouette outlined against the sunlight, and with each deep breath the eyes began to focus until it was clearly Valentina! Not on the ground but hanging by her crooked tail on a branch of a sapling where Cheyenne had placed her to rest earlier! “Thank you God!”
Cheyenne was playing near the tents when Grandaddy appeared from across the camp site. The other hikers had moved on to the next great adventure-ice cream and souvenir shopping at the camp store. Cheyenne kept staring as Grandaddy came closer and there was this magical moment when she first saw it. In his hand was Valentina. That little blue fingerling! Her first glimpse wasn’t enough but after a second or two it became reality! It really was!
Cheyenne made up a song that night about her day, and about hiking in the woods, and about how Velentina got lost and how her Grandaddy saved the day! It was a good song. It was a good day to be Grandaddy!
Rest and reflection can help us catch our breath and reorient and often that is all we need to gain a new perspective on things. And it never hurts to pray!