Thoughts from Sabbatical - Note 8 from john (8/3)
Submitted by john on Sun, 08/03/2008 - 09:22.
“Dad … is that lightning?”
“Well – yeah it is.”
“What are we going to do?”
This was the tail end of a dreary eyed conversation between my 11 year-old son Will and me as we awoke atop Mt. Chellenchopli here in Switzerland. Let me try and set the physical scene.
It was 4:30 in the morning and there was no light – except for the lightning. We were snuggled together underneath the trees with no cover, no tent, or no lean-to. It was windy, very windy. (I think I heard the Wicked Witches theme music in the background.) And, it was beginning to look and feel like we were not where we needed to be if the heavens opened up in all their power. Truth be told, it took Will a few minutes to wake me up. The conversation began like this.
Will: Dad. Dad? Dad!
Me: Huh?
Will: Dad, is that lightning?
Me: Huh? What …
Will: Is that lightning?
Me: I don’t know. I can’t see … my eyes are not open. Where?
Will: Over there! Dad, is that lightning
Me: Well – yeah it is.
Will: What are we going to do?
When I finally opened my eyes – they were excited and amazed at what they saw. Lightning from the top of a 4000 ft mountain is a spectacular sight. Then my mind started to awake and it realized lightning from atop a 4000 ft mountain is probably not real safe. Then all of me started to awake and I realized – we need to do something – but what? Let me try and set the emotional scene here.
I am not Grizzly Dan, William Wallace, or Daniel Boone. I am not a man who is completely at ease or at home in the deep wild of God’s creation. I am not a man who welcomes wrestling wild animals. I like to think I’m Davy Crockett but in reality I’m more like Elmer Fudd. I like being outdoors. I love creation and one thing I have rediscovered is that I connect with The Creator outside a whole lot better than I do inside. However, at the end of the day, I would rather sleep in a cabin in the woods than on the ground in the woods. So you ask, what am I doing on the ground in the woods atop of a mountain in Switzerland? Great question.
Will is heading into Middle School this year and one of the things I have planned for a long time is several special Father-Son trips / events that will help usher he and I into his journey into manhood. I believe the scripture teaches that manhood is a journey not an age we reach. It is a journey that must involve encouragement, teaching, mentoring, and modeling by older men (hopefully the dad first and foremost). This was our first of such trips /events. The plan was to have fun but for this trip to be physically stretching. He received his first real knife on that mountain, we talked about serious and silly things, laughed, played, hiked, hiked, got lost, hiked, and hiked some more. (We covered some 20 mountainous miles in the 24 hours we were out.) We built a great campsite, a great fire (after some worry), and sat and whittled and talked and laughed. It was great. It was sweet. It was a divine moment. And, the whole time – I was a little bit anxious. Okay – at times I was scared. That sounds so harsh but we where in the middle of no where, atop a mountain, and remember I’m Elmer Fudd. Earlier in the day as we set off my son asked me, “Have you done this before?” He was looking for some assurance. “Sure,” I said – “once or … twice.” I’ve camped a lot but a man vs. wild trip with no tent just the trees and stars – once or twice and with other men. All to say, we were on a journey-into-manhood-trip and the only “man” on the trip was more than a little scared. Not cool.
Back to the question – “what are we going to do?” I must admit – I drew a blank. A part of me thought – this is awesome. Sit tight, watch, and ride it out. Another part of me thought – run and find cover! Eventually, we both remembered some cover about twenty minutes away. The problem - it was dark (save the lightning flashes) and we had to traverse some trails at night across a meadow and down a steep serpentine path. No problem. We had two (tiny) flashlights. Let’s go. We took off at a nice brisk pace, which picked up to a slow trot, which soon became a fast trot. We eventually found in the middle of this trail a tiny building that housed a shrine to some Swiss saint. It was nothing you could enter, but here on a path in the middle of the woods, on the side of a mountain we sat underneath the overhang of this small building built to honor some 600 year-old saint.
The storm never hit us. The thunder and lightning was fun to watch and just as incredible to hear. It was great. It was sweet. It was a divine moment. And, the whole time – I was a little bit anxious. I’m learning that to experience fear is okay. Fear isn’t a sin as I read in the bible. It is what the fear does that can lead to sin. This fear led us to pray, sing, think, pray some more, and worship. This fear led us to get up and move to safety. This fear we listened to and it worked out alright. We made it back alive and there is a attachment at the bottom with a picture of our return as proof. And, this all began because my son woke up and asked dad a question.
I’ve been asking a lot of questions during this trip to my heavenly Father. Can’t say that I have always got explicit answers but I can say I know this for sure - when I come to my Father, my Abba – Daddy, HE IS PLEASED. I also know this for sure. He is at home in this wild, wild world He created. He never feels like Elmer Fudd and He makes William Wallace look like Scooby Doo. He is not anxious about our situations. He is in control. I have a lot more questions, but I’m confident of this. My Dad – God Almighty who sent the lightning - wants to hear them.
john
| Attachment | Size |
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| Will and John After Trip.jpg | 157.2 KB |
