According to the
calendar, there are still some summer days left. However, our children will be
starting a new school year in a couple of weeks. And so, we are winding down
from our summer of fun. My family has engaged in a number of activities and
vacations this summer. We traveled to Southern California, Eastern Nevada, and
Northwestern Colorado over the past three months. We have camped, seen plays,
visited museums, seen and read about animals, and so much more. I have kept a
list of those summer activities, but I have also been mentally recording some
of the spiritual truths we have learned over this time. Here are some of those
truths.
The Bond of Family is Important. My
wife, two children, and I spent a great deal of time together this summer. We
also vacationed with both my parents and my in-laws. The kids got to meet extended
family during this time, as well. We have bonded as a family, and we are closer
today than we were at the start of the summer. Was it always easy to be
together as a family? Heavens, no. We had arguments. We grew tired of being
around each other. The kids were at times unruly. And there were times when I,
too, was unruly. But, we did grow closer through it all (and found out more
about each other than we may care to have known).
I
have gained a greater appreciation for the importance of family. There are
times when I desperately want to retreat from my family. But, I am so fond of
them and truly enjoy being with them. In today’s hectic, fast-paced culture, it
can be easy to be distant from family. Even when we are in the same room, we
may be worlds away as we engage with our smart phones and tablets instead of
the people sitting next to us. Many of our adventures kept us from those
distracting elements. We camped in the mountains of Colorado, 9400 feet above
sea level, with no electricity or running water. So, we spent time as a family.
As we traveled to eastern Nevada, we traveled on the self-proclaimed “Loneliest
Road in America.” In the middle of the desert, we entertained each other with
conversation and music. In Southern California, we knew nobody, and relied on
each other to get to the right location and to watch over each other.
Sometimes, as I read the Bible, I too quickly pass over
the passages dealing with the bond of family. I forget that Abraham, Jacob,
David, and other biblical figures relied on family in ways that we do not
today. I glance over the passages in which we are told that we are now part of
God’s family, adopted children of the King. We are told that God is a nurturing
and loving Father, who gives generously to His children as He protects and
watches over them. As I watched my children place their trust in me and my wife
in unfamiliar surroundings, those passages resonated in a new way. And those
passages challenge me, too. Do I trust God in the way that my children trust in
me when they are unsure of a situation or unsure of their surroundings?
God Has Created a Multifaceted World that is
Harmoniously United. We saw and experienced
so much this summer. We saw the wonder of God’s natural creation. We got to see
elk, deer, coyotes, and birds in their natural environs. We read about arctic
seals, moose, and blue whales. We experienced the creative wonder of marvelous
singers, actors, artists, and musicians. We experienced first-hand the
diversity of our world. We were able to appreciate classical music, children’s
music, folk music, rock, country, and ‘80s new wave music (my son became a
fan). We saw classic art and modern art. One could argue that we experienced so
many differences throughout the summer. But, I see the harmony in the midst of
that diversity.
I
think we experienced this most clearly on our camping trip. My son is beginning
to understand cause and effect. He is beginning to understand the intricacy of
the natural world. He sees how some animals feed off the land, while other
animals feed off each other. And while that is sometimes difficult to explain,
he does understand a sense of harmony in it all. While we may not completely
understand the balance of the natural world, we appreciate it. Spiritually, I
stand in awe of a God who does understand it well. I cannot understand how
someone can see all the intricacies of the natural world and not see the hand
of a marvelous Creator in it all. How can one witness the marvel of an opera
voice, or a rock voice, or an accomplished harpist, or a spoken-word poet and
not feel in her soul the workings of an Other? All of our diverse experiences
led to many discussions in this vein. I think my kids have a sense of awe at
the diversity and wonder of God’s creative force.
Take Time to Pray. There were a
couple of times when the only thing I knew to do was to pray for others. While
traveling that “Loneliest Road in America” my kids and I saw the after effects
of a roll-over car accident. When we passed the accident, paramedics were
carrying a man on a stretcher to an emergency vehicle. I don’t know the extent
of his injuries. I don’t know if there were others in the vehicle. My children
were of course curious about the accident, asking what happened and if the man
would be O.K. In honesty, I could not answer their questions, so I suggested we
pray for him. And we did.
On our final night of camping, the next camping spot was
occupied by hard-drinking, foul-mouthed campers who were loud far beyond the
quiet hour. They made our final night with my in-laws an unpleasant evening. As
we left the campground the next day, my wife and I talked about the unpleasant
evening, the campers disregard and disrespect for the other camper, and how it
really affected our camping experience. Then, we decided that the best thing we
could do was to pray for those campers. And we did.
As I put my son to bed at night, I have heard him praying
before he drifts off to sleep. He is five-years-old, so his prayers are often
selfish. He often asks God for things that he wants, as if God is a magic
genie. But, his prayers are sometimes right on target. My son’s innocent prayers are a gentle
reminder that I should take everything to my Father. And as he falls to sleep,
I pray that he and his sister will someday place their faith in Jesus. I have
no control over that, just as I had no control over the health of the roll-over
victim or the neighbor campers, so I leave it in God’s hands.
The Power of Death My son wanted to
go fishing during our camping trip more than anything. He talked about fishing
for quite some time. He always said we would catch our fish and eat our catch.
But, when the time came to fish, the magnitude of death became real to him. It
started as his Grampa hooked a worm to the fishing pole. My son realized that
the worm would have to die in the course of the fishing. He was noticeably
distraught about the worm losing its life. As a result, we had to ask Grampa to
bait the hook with salmon eggs instead of worms (please don’t tell my son about
the life inside a salmon egg!). And so, we transported a container of worms
1,000 miles to their new home in our vegetable garden. When we caught a fish,
my son once again understood the gravity of the experience, and wanted the fish
returned to the lake. So we had a catch and release fishing extravaganza.
Once
he was faced with the reality of death, and his responsibility in that death,
my son was very uncomfortable. I got to talk to him about the experience while
the others continued fishing. I told him that it is a big deal that those
animals would die, and that I could understand if he was not ready to be a part
of their demise. Then he caught me off guard. He said that it was just like
when Adam and Eve sinned and God let them kill animals so that Adam and Eve
would have clothing to cover their nakedness. He made the connection between
sin and death in a way that I would not have expected from a five-year-old. So,
we took time to talk about that truth that humankind’s sin did bring about
death. It was a great discussion. Will my sensitive son want to fish (or hunt)
again? I don’t know. But, I thank God for the very powerful discussion my son
and I got to have about sin and death.
What
a fantastic summer. There is so much more that we have experienced, and so much
more that I have learned. I am so grateful to God for His goodness and the gift
of relationships.
For more Faith of This Father, you can like the Faith of This Father page on Facebook or follow on Twitter @faithotfather. Or email me at faithofthisfather@yahoo.com.
