Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity involving the spending of one or more nights in a travel trailer at a campsite with the purpose of getting away from civilization and enjoying nature.
Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains,
         The  world, and those who dwell in it.
    ²For He has founded it upon the seas
         And established it upon the rivers.
 
This past week I had the opportunity to do just that with my husband and another couple who owned the travel trailer we had the pleasure of sleeping in at night.  As a child I remember camping with my family and enjoying it through the eyes of a child, but this weekend I had a very new perspective on camping through the eye of an adult.  

So often during the week I find myself running form point A to point B and never stopping to really taking in the beauty of this world.  The trees, the lakes, the animals, the paths to get me where it is I am going. So often I find myself actually wondering how did I get here once I am there, I am on the phone working and before I know I am at my next destination and really I can't remember the path I took to get me there.  Scary I know.

Not this past week, during our camping trip we took in a good bit of history, we stayed at Franklin D Roosevelt State Park, right there in the office is a little family history.  On display is a CCC(Civilian Conservation Corps) flag sewn by my grandmother Belle Miller.  Not only did I get to spend time on the grounds where FDR spent some of his time but also of my grandparents.  Then we continued on to Dowdell's Knob which is where FDR enjoyed entertaining some of his closets friends and there you will see the statue that my brother Steve Miller (www.giftedhandssculpting.com)had the pleasure of working on the part of the legs and the marker behind the statue.  As I sat there beside the statue of FDR and taking in the view that he saw.  The view today is truly amazing I can only image its beauty that was seen through FDR eyes.  



As the day started to turn into night I had the opportunity to fish and spend some time with my sweet friend, talking and laughing, lots of laughter.  The guys prepared our meals on the fire in cast iron pots that was so yummy, and then once night had fallen we start sharing ghost stories (scary stories) and then read a story from the book purchased in the park office.  


The next day we ventured off to Callaway gardens and took in the Discovery Center which was displaying drawings by children, which was incredible.  An artist had on display mirrored photography, which is very interesting.  We visited the Butterfly Center and the Birds of Prey.  Once we finished with this we went back to the camp ground and grabbed our bicycles and returned to Callaway and road the  paved bike trails, which crossed bridges and viewed lakes and ponds along the way. We started in the six o'clock hour and continued until 8:00 which was incredible, the temperature was perfect the animals were getting ready to take on the night and the songs of these animals while riding was beautiful. I remember saying over and over while riding "Marvel in his Splendor" my God was showing me that I need to slow down and live in his world!   

The next morning I returned home, but not in the way I left it.  I came home revived and feeling like a kid excited about Christmas, I was thrilled to have had a marvelous weekend and recognizing that God had made this possible for me to see he wants me to laugh and take time to smell the rose and explore all of his creations.   

Nature is God’s picture book for man, much like the picture books we give to children who are not yet able to read. The pictures tell the same story the Bible tells with words. Like the Bible, fallen men cannot and will not grasp the meaning and the message God communicates to them. The teaching from nature, like that of the Bible, is turned upside-down and inside-out, to man’s condemnation.

So the next time you are given the opportunity to go Camping, I hope you will go and I pray you will experience the beauty of Gods miracle.