Dear reader, today's post might be enhanced by the following blog reading suggestion:
hum the melody of Jars of Clay Flood...better yet, load it in your I-tunes, or some such computer music player, blast it...and then envision the scenario of six adults and six children trapped in 8 person, 13 x 13 Coleman tent for five + hours while the rain thoroughly trounced every square inch of "our" camping area. In fact, as we sat in our tent, entertaining the 6 wee ones, aged four and under, thunder nearly trampled us with crashing force, and the lightning more than illuminated our faces for brief, bright seconds.
But what I started to describe was the impact of the water. While Hurricane Katrina victims experienced utter devastation, perhaps for one minute we understood some of magnificent force of the water as the rain created a raging river (or at very least a furious stream) beneath our tent where it felt like we were sitting on puddles, and then more clearly on shifting waterbeds. I'm sorry my words can't do justice to the affect. But it was amazing. And truly unforgettable. Certainly, for my second camping experience, this weekend tops my list of memorable moments. Check out my friend's account ,(I'm actually not sure if that link will even work...but if it doesn't take you there, u should paste the link http://jkmoore.ath.cx/weblog/pivot/entry.php?id=914#comm, b/c it's worth the read.)
Aside from the storm, the delight of sharing life encircling a campfire, in the raw and not always hospitable elements, around a picnic table, and even confined in a conjested tent captivates me and invigorates my heart and soul. Sounds dramatic, doesn't it? Well, life definitely plays out in surprising and wonderful ways. Grace resides there too. Thank God!
5 comments:
Grace definitely is sitting that close to that many people for that long, and then wanting to commit to our Monday night get-together the next day. God must be giving us grace when I think of the fact that we all enjoyed our weekend(and want to do it again). It could have been worse, really. Everyone I tell our story to says something like "Wow. I bet you aren't going camping again any time soon." Or "No fights or annoyances after FIVE hours of practically sitting on each other's laps?!"
Wow Gracie, you are a certified camper now!
This is another kind of surprising thing. I stumbled on Juanito's blog a few months ago and even left a comment because he went to Celeryville, but he probably thought I was a stalker.
Yeah, Karla. U described the miracle for sure. So am I making reservations for our next planned camping trip?
Jewels, how fun that you already "knew" Juanito or at least found his blog. If I think of it, I'll mention your comment the next time I see him. You ARE kinda stalker-ish (j/k).
Wow! You linked to my blog! And called it worth the read! I think i'm going to have to go deflate my head for a while. I was all set to tell you to stop reading my blog, because you're all poetic and stuff...and i just blunder along in my writing.
I agree about the not annoying each other thing, though! I was thinking about that a couple of days ago, that i never felt annoyed at anyone even though we were trapped in a teensy space together for so long! It never even occured to me at the time to feel annoyed, and that in itself is pretty amazing. Totally grace.
By the way...Jewels! I remember you! Juanito and i had a discussion about whether or not you would have known my sister-in-law Ashley!
karen, i absolutely love ur writing. u're so witty and conversational and real. i love seeing ur kids and the miracles of family through ur eyes. that's why i love reading ur blog. (which may also explain why i comment frequently). so thanks for visiting here.
AND i think it's crazy (in the best way) that u remember julia!!!
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