Two recent weekends have introduced me
to the experience that is ‘Wild Camping’.
When this concept was originally
suggested to me the thought of being out under the trees sent shivers down my
spine; dark shadows, the rustle of undergrowth, a midnight ‘howl’ chorus, and
bugs of all description taking advantage of exposed faces, all conjured in my
mind! I may not be a celebrity, but the phrase ‘GET ME OUT OF HERE’ was
hovering on the tip of my lips, even before the date was set!
We had been blessed greatly by the 2014
summer and it was not to disappoint as it continued to give us two beautiful
weekends as the autumn calendar began to open its doors. Both micro-expeditions,
subsequently found themselves in the idyllic surroundings of two of Cumbria’s
‘Northern Lakes’; the canvas had been lovingly painted to melt my anxious
thoughts.
Our journeys commenced with open canoes
laden with all that we would need for a night ‘under the stars’; flanked by
welcoming mountains that seemed all but touchable, paddles began to glide
through the gentle, crystal waters.
Words cannot do justice to the beauty
and majesty of all that surrounded us; the ‘Artist’ had truly presented His creation
in all its finery!
As vessels steered to dry land it seemed
a shame to move from these waters, but our own creation story was required if
we were going to find rest for the night!
Territories staked out, there was much
excitement in the air as hammocks, tarps and (dare I say it) tents, along with
survival, bivvy and sleeping bags, were revealed and carefully positioned;
‘lodgings’ in place it was time to turn our attention to the all-important
matters of fire and food!
Bulrush, bow-drill, straw and kindling
in place the first attempts to generate heat began. With bow-drill in full
friction the emergence of smoke could be seen, the advancement to a more modern
form of ‘fire-lighting’ however, was
required to translate this into a spark … the fire steel was brought into play!
It was the next part of this process
that had me transfixed, and spoke once again of life’s journey. As the small spark took hold in the bulrush,
the ball of straw that it was embedded in was lifted to the air to allow a
gentle, consistent breath to be blown through it for the spark to be brought
completely to life with dancing flames producing light, warmth and sufficient
power to cook!
The image before me reminded me that
many times through life we are asked to do things that maybe we have no
qualification or any real equipping for, just the minutest amount of talent
with a willingness to offer it for use.
Viewing this from my walk with Jesus as my saviour and friend, I could
see those times when I have handed over the smallest of offerings in many areas
(emotions, talents, time, relationships, financial resources etc) to God
(sometimes hesitantly!!), for Him to breathe life into. What has happened next
has, on many occasions, brought about something beyond anything that I could
dream or imagine; my world lit up to bring change, transformation and the
ability to achieve.
With the beautiful picture of ‘michelin
man’ proportioned hands lovingly holding us and life giving breath being blown into
all that we are and can be; camp camaraderie, around the now glowing fire, in
full flow; I was ready to embrace my ‘sleepover’ with the
stars and all creation … including the ones that were to crawl over my face in
the night!!
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