Tuesday - This is where I stopped keeping a regular journal, so this is mostly going to be from memory. The girls were getting tired, and over the course of the day, it was pretty evident that we needed some time for the girls to just unwind and relax. It was our second longest paddle, from Spice to Ogish, to Jasper, to Alpine, and to the west edge of Seagull, where we would be spending the bulk of our time. We got to camp relatively early, so we had lots of time to cool down and chill. We swam for a while, and then had mandatory nap/quiet time, and then did some solo time. Our campsite was amazing - the one corner of it was a big rock, and the GL was a good quarter mile from the main campsite. We had our quiet time, and got to think about what it means to listen for God's call, what joys come from it, and what struggles come from it. Here is what I wrote: (I think I'm better at writing than speaking.)
Listening for God is more than sitting in a room by yourself waiting for Him to come to you. Instead, it is a willingness to open yourself up to the possibility that God is present where we are. It means changing our perspectives and accepting the reality that we are already instruments of God - able and ready to do His work.
Listening to God means accepting responsibility when we feel ourselves being directed toward a need that must be filled. It means being willing to step outside our comfort zone and realize that we must fill the need whether we have the gifts to fill it or not.
Joy in the calling comes when we find ourselves strengthened to the point where we are able to fulfill our calling. God makes us capable of rising to the challenge if we only believe we can.It is easy to become overwhelmed when we look at the tasks set before us. However, what can be even more frightening is realizing we are able, or even willing, to rise to the challenge of a need that we know we cannot fill alone. Yet we still feel an undeniable need to do so. We are frightened by what we might discover, and come to realize that we have not been living to our full potential.
Look at the ripples that your foot creates when you step into a great body of water. Only then can you begin to understand the extent to which God is able to use you. Your actions will reach far beyond what you would imagine possible.
Finishing reading to the group was a lot of stares and "wow's", I guess I kinda thought that might happen, but I really felt called to say it, even though I wasn't looking for praise. I spent my solo time away from everyone else, down the shore farther on a rock away from the group.
One of my favorite metaphors was one Laura made - the picture of silence as a pregnant woman, then something beautiful is birthed of it. Bonhoeffer had a lot to say about silence too, and often mentioned that some of the most beautiful and profound sayings came out of silence.
The evening was a glorious but tense one - bipolar, if you will. Supper, or part of supper was not received well by the group - Mac n cheese, fry bread (a different kind), carrots, and cheesecake. Everyone ate the mac and cheese, but the fry bread was rejected, as was the cheesecake. That led to a lot of argument and frustration on the part of the girls and the leaders, and our lactose intolerant and milk allergic leaders ended up eating most of the things that had milk in them. Yikes. We headed that night after bringing our supper with us up to watch the sun set, responded to by one of the girls by saying, "what, it's just a bunch of clouds and sun..." It really was gorgeous though. We finally finished out the evening, and began the journey to what would be probably the most difficult day of the trip.
Wednesday - Rock climbing day. We began the morning on the wrong foot...a lot of arguments and complaints about the breakfast for the day...malt o meal. No one wanted to eat it, which frustrated the leaders yet again, and the girls...what a way to start the day. After many arguments and eventually packing out two cups of the stuff, we were on our way. We cruised over to find a campsite, and after unsuccessfully checking some of them, we ended up back at the first one we stopped at, and then packed our day bag for rock climbing. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves there, and were challenged and pleased with their success. We got back to camp, washed off a bit, and then the leaders headed off for water. It looked like rain, so our job was to set up camp and get things taken care of.
This was the testing night. I was left with the group of girls to set up camp, and one of our number didn't like that idea. So, after an interesting talk and some exchanged words, we went on in silence. It took the better part of an hour, but we eventually got things squared away, and the girls got the night off...acting like nothing had happened. Laura and Maren and I opted to make supper ourselves so as not to create more drama, and it was a WONDERFUL night. I got a chance to bond with the leaders and laugh some, and so did the girls. We spent a long time staring at a 5 legged grasshopper, a dragonfly nymph skeleton, and the water. Sunset that evening was amazing, and we spent the better part of an hour on a rock talking before the mosquitos took over. It was a good end to the evening, and we went to bed with the knowledge that it could be a very early morning - watching sunrise at the Palisades...which meant getting up and packing up camp at 4am. Ew.
Thursday - the final day. We ended up not getting up that early, it was pretty cold and looked cloudy. We got up around 5 and packed up camp, and then headed back for our last paddle. Back at camp around 7:45, we unloaded packs and canoes, cleaned them, and after a few more quarrels, finished our work. We scrubbed canoes, liners, and packs, put lifejackets and paddles away, and then took our gear up to the brigades. We packed some, took showers, and did debriefing, then went to the camp store. After many long goodbyes, lots of pictures, lots of laughs, and a surprise candy bar present :) , we loaded up and departed...a bittersweet end to the trip.
We stopped in Grand Marais for a pizza lunch at Sven and Ole's, and then headed for the journey home. It was pretty uneventful, and we were all happy to be on our way back to our homes and beds. Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful week despite the polarity of reactions and comments that came out of it, and comments of "I rock climbed FOR REAL this week" and "I learned how to portage a canoe!" and "I saw six moose!" were heard throughout the SUV.
It was a wonderful, stressful, beautiful, tiring, growing, unbelievable week.
And I even made it home without being tired. (Then I crashed...and probably slept more in two days than I did all week.) :)
Listening for God is more than sitting in a room by yourself waiting for Him to come to you. Instead, it is a willingness to open yourself up to the possibility that God is present where we are. It means changing our perspectives and accepting the reality that we are already instruments of God - able and ready to do His work.
Listening to God means accepting responsibility when we feel ourselves being directed toward a need that must be filled. It means being willing to step outside our comfort zone and realize that we must fill the need whether we have the gifts to fill it or not.
Joy in the calling comes when we find ourselves strengthened to the point where we are able to fulfill our calling. God makes us capable of rising to the challenge if we only believe we can.It is easy to become overwhelmed when we look at the tasks set before us. However, what can be even more frightening is realizing we are able, or even willing, to rise to the challenge of a need that we know we cannot fill alone. Yet we still feel an undeniable need to do so. We are frightened by what we might discover, and come to realize that we have not been living to our full potential.
Look at the ripples that your foot creates when you step into a great body of water. Only then can you begin to understand the extent to which God is able to use you. Your actions will reach far beyond what you would imagine possible.
Finishing reading to the group was a lot of stares and "wow's", I guess I kinda thought that might happen, but I really felt called to say it, even though I wasn't looking for praise. I spent my solo time away from everyone else, down the shore farther on a rock away from the group.
One of my favorite metaphors was one Laura made - the picture of silence as a pregnant woman, then something beautiful is birthed of it. Bonhoeffer had a lot to say about silence too, and often mentioned that some of the most beautiful and profound sayings came out of silence.
The evening was a glorious but tense one - bipolar, if you will. Supper, or part of supper was not received well by the group - Mac n cheese, fry bread (a different kind), carrots, and cheesecake. Everyone ate the mac and cheese, but the fry bread was rejected, as was the cheesecake. That led to a lot of argument and frustration on the part of the girls and the leaders, and our lactose intolerant and milk allergic leaders ended up eating most of the things that had milk in them. Yikes. We headed that night after bringing our supper with us up to watch the sun set, responded to by one of the girls by saying, "what, it's just a bunch of clouds and sun..." It really was gorgeous though. We finally finished out the evening, and began the journey to what would be probably the most difficult day of the trip.
Wednesday - Rock climbing day. We began the morning on the wrong foot...a lot of arguments and complaints about the breakfast for the day...malt o meal. No one wanted to eat it, which frustrated the leaders yet again, and the girls...what a way to start the day. After many arguments and eventually packing out two cups of the stuff, we were on our way. We cruised over to find a campsite, and after unsuccessfully checking some of them, we ended up back at the first one we stopped at, and then packed our day bag for rock climbing. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves there, and were challenged and pleased with their success. We got back to camp, washed off a bit, and then the leaders headed off for water. It looked like rain, so our job was to set up camp and get things taken care of.
This was the testing night. I was left with the group of girls to set up camp, and one of our number didn't like that idea. So, after an interesting talk and some exchanged words, we went on in silence. It took the better part of an hour, but we eventually got things squared away, and the girls got the night off...acting like nothing had happened. Laura and Maren and I opted to make supper ourselves so as not to create more drama, and it was a WONDERFUL night. I got a chance to bond with the leaders and laugh some, and so did the girls. We spent a long time staring at a 5 legged grasshopper, a dragonfly nymph skeleton, and the water. Sunset that evening was amazing, and we spent the better part of an hour on a rock talking before the mosquitos took over. It was a good end to the evening, and we went to bed with the knowledge that it could be a very early morning - watching sunrise at the Palisades...which meant getting up and packing up camp at 4am. Ew.
Thursday - the final day. We ended up not getting up that early, it was pretty cold and looked cloudy. We got up around 5 and packed up camp, and then headed back for our last paddle. Back at camp around 7:45, we unloaded packs and canoes, cleaned them, and after a few more quarrels, finished our work. We scrubbed canoes, liners, and packs, put lifejackets and paddles away, and then took our gear up to the brigades. We packed some, took showers, and did debriefing, then went to the camp store. After many long goodbyes, lots of pictures, lots of laughs, and a surprise candy bar present :) , we loaded up and departed...a bittersweet end to the trip.
We stopped in Grand Marais for a pizza lunch at Sven and Ole's, and then headed for the journey home. It was pretty uneventful, and we were all happy to be on our way back to our homes and beds. Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful week despite the polarity of reactions and comments that came out of it, and comments of "I rock climbed FOR REAL this week" and "I learned how to portage a canoe!" and "I saw six moose!" were heard throughout the SUV.
It was a wonderful, stressful, beautiful, tiring, growing, unbelievable week.
And I even made it home without being tired. (Then I crashed...and probably slept more in two days than I did all week.) :)
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