"Camping Story"

I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands.  ~ Psalm 119:176 (NLT) 

I love camping! My wife loves camping! This one was an easy one to write,  but from what angle? The conflict is where I decided to go. What would  happen if Toby got lost in the woods? From this situation is how I wrote  the “Camping Story”. Then Kristin did a great job adding in great phrases and making the story flow. Here is what it is all about.

Toby has a fear of the dark. When his dad comes home to take him on the  camping trip, instead of just saying what he’s really afraid of, he  tells his dad three things. Bugs, Predators, and the Dark! When we pray  to God, it is sometimes difficult to say what we really want to say. In  Toby’s case, it doesn’t matter what his dad would say, he would still be  afraid of the dark. Toby goes along with his dad, and they come up to  the edge of the woods where they meet the Park Ranger. (He is Jesus in  this story.) The Park Ranger checks their supplies and gives them  instructions about camping in the woods. He gives one very important  instruction at the end. “If you get in trouble and need me, call out my name and I’ll come.” Jesus doesn’t shy away from telling us how He will help us. He makes it  plain as day. We even acknowledge that we hear Him and will follow His  direction. Let’s see if Toby remembers this though.

They set up their campsite, and Toby now is really enjoying camping. It’s  fun and easy. Especially with his dad being with him. His dad then tells  him to go off into the woods and find some firewood. With Toby’s new  courage, he takes off into the woods. He’s collecting wood until he gets  distracted and sees an animal in the tree. It was a squirrel! He said “Hi” to the squirrel, but instead of saying “Hi”  back, the squirrel throws an acorn at him. He keeps throwing acorns at  Toby causing him to run deeper into the woods. We will all eventually  wander off into the woods on a task. Once there, we will face  temptations and distractions that we may not even cause. They will tempt  us to run away from our tasks and derail us from God.

Toby now realizes that he doesn’t know where he is. He starts to look for  home calling his dad’s name. He can’t find him or the way, so he sits  next to a tree as it’s getting darker and darker. Once the devil has  successfully derailed us, we forget the lessons that we have learned. We  forget how to even come back home. Toby here starts to look for the way  back, but he never says “Park Ranger!” It doesn’t even cross his mind. We too will look to get ourselves out of messes first before relying on God to come save us.

It is now really dark! Panic sets in as his worst fears are realized. Then  he hears a howl! A wolf starts to chase him. Toby runs and runs and  then hides behind a tree. Once we are in an unknown place, the devil  doesn’t stay hidden. He shows his full evil self. Now we realize that  this is bad! All we do now is run and hide!

This is the moment Toby realizes what he must do. He must call out “PARK RANGER!”  But if he calls out his name, the wolf will hear him. We are now in a  mess. Sin has taken us farther than we intended to go and has costed us  more than we could ever have imagined. And coming back to God isn’t  easy. Everyone will know! Even our enemies! Once we are at this place,  in order to break down the walls of sin, we have to acknowledge God as  being the only way out.

With an abandoned courage, Toby shouts out “PARK RANGER!” Silence. “PARK RANGER!” The wolf spots him now! “PARK RANGER!”  Just in the nick of time the Park Ranger jumps in front of Toby and  scares off the wolf! We can’t just call out God’s name once and except  everything to be fixed. No, we have to keep calling His name. God will  however, never let us drown in our sin. God didn’t let Peter sink into  the water. God will not allow us to die in our sin if we call out to  Him.

The Park Ranger then takes Toby back to his dad where he is safe again. Toby’s dad thanks the Park Ranger, and says to Toby, “No more adventures tonight.”

The ending of this story is simple. God will bring us back home. For Toby,  it was back with his dad. Note that even though his dad searched for  Toby, it was the Park Ranger that found him. We as parents need to rely  on Jesus to find our wayward kids, friends, and relatives. Once Jesus  brings them home is when the real change begins. I am a prodigal son. I  came home when Jesus found me.

Kristin and I hope you have enjoyed reading the “Camping Story.”  There is so many talking points in this book. I hope it brings you into  a closer relationship with our God as well as your kids.

Jesus, I pray that this story reaches my kids. That it teaches them when/if  they are lost, to cry out to You. Give me the courage also to trust in  You. I pray that I am able to teach my kids to follow Your ways. In Your  name I pray. Amen.