In our midst

Camp of the Woods 2008... what an amazing time we had. This is just simply a beautiful place. Combine amazing surroundings with fun family time and you've got quite a vacation.

But isn't it funny that even when everything seems perfect... little things... little stupid things can chip away at your heart's peace?

On Wednesday, Art and I were scheduled to speak on "Giving Your Family a Spiritual Vision." I might as well had a red target on my forehead that read, "Bring it on Satan."

So, with 4 teenagers, one nine year old princess, and a hubby who likes to be clean, all sharing one small bathroom in one small cabin can prove to be bonding on good days and um... a struggle on the not so good days.

Wednesday was a challenge.

I was the last in the shower. And I had the most to do to get ready. Hola, la familia? Who has to speak today and who just simply needs to saunter into teen chapel.

Ahem.

When I finally got all 38, 472 hairs on my head washed, dried, straightened and sprayed, I started clippy clapping my little speaker shoes through camp.

That's about the point the rain decided to mock all my gettin' ready efforts.

My Bible proved to be a handy shelf to at least block the bangs area of my hair. And really the protection of southern style bangs is of the utmost importance.

I finally made it into the speaking room with only half my head looking like a wadded up frizz ball. And then I realized with all the spraying and straightening and Bible bangs holding, I had forgotten my notes ALLLLL the way back in the cabin.

Have mercy.

You've got to be kidding me.

At this point I'm not feeling any kind of spiritual vision much less wanting to speak about it for the next hour. An hour in which I would be required to stand before fellow humans looking strangely like a drowned little rat with some serious frizz on her fro of a hairdo.

Have you ever wished Scotty could beam you up?

I would have been delighted to be reduced into a million space particles if it could mean I'd be able to pop to and back from my cabin to get my notes without having to get back out in the rain.

But since Scotty only beams people up in episodes where people trek through stars and not a rain soaked camp, I started clippy clapping back through camp.

I was having an honest talk with the Lord about his timing of rain showers. Okay, I was pouting and whining. "Don't you see me Lord?" "Why the rain right now?"

All of the sudden a friend came out of nowhere with an open umbrella and simply said, "Lysa, you need this."

I thanked her, took the umbrella, and slowed my brisk pace back to my cabin. I peaked up and over the edge of the umbrella to look into the sky.

I smiled. I apologized. I laughed. And I got a brand new dose of spiritual vision from the Lord.

Why was I questioning whether or not God cared about me? So things went slightly awry. So a little rain fell in my life that day. So the events leading up to my talk weren't exactly great. So my hair was frizzy and my notes a little wet and smeared.

Why couldn't I just take it all in stride and negate Satan's nagging voices right from the get go?

I realized that most times it's not the big things along my spiritual journey that tempt me to get a little off track. It's a culmination of little daily aggravations that I know God could fix but doesn't.

But what if I've been looking at these things all wrong. What if instead of seeing these as inconveniences, what if I saw them as reminders to draw near to God. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

My little rain soaked, frizzy haired, clippy clap shoes wearing, notes retrieving self determined that this little trek through camp had done me a lot of good.

Later that night at dusk, I was sitting on my bed gazing out at a most glorious sunset while talking with God. "Forgive me for always praying, God bless me. Give me the courage to sometimes pray, God inconvenience me... so that I might constantly be reminded to draw near to you. Interrupt me Lord. Shake things up in me Lord. Reveal what's in me that's not of you, Lord. Oh Lord, more than anything, I want more of You."


At that moment, I could hear my friend Suzy yelling outside our cabin to come out and look at something. I assumed it was the sunset I'd been staring at.

But when I got outside and turned away from the sunset, the view of this glorious rainbow stretching across our cabin made my breath catch in my throat.

The panoramic view of the sky that night was unlike any I've ever seen. On one side of the mountain range, the clouds swirled and mixed with the sun's setting rays. And on the other side, a glorious arch of color and promise.

I grabbed my heart as I felt God's creation exclaim, "The Lord is not just near... He is delighting, dancing, speaking, wooing, and painting in your midst."