New Options...and More Uncertainty!

Just when I thought that I had God figured and knew exactly what direction I was headed in, He has thrown wrench into the inner workings of my limited human reasoning. For months now I have been assuming that I would go directly into going into staff work with Intervarsity directly after college, no questions asked. Now, I'm not so sure. My sister informed me this evening that Wilderness Canoe Base, the canoe camp that I guided at this summer in one of the most unique working environments in the world, is going to be expanding their program to include winter trips. They are looking for guides to work year round and I am one of the people that they want to come back next year. Not only that, I also found out that my sister will also be moving out to the area and if I work out there I will be able to be much closer to her. Too many options!

Being a senior in college, I have a lot of opportunities open to me and I now I find myself thinking about what direction I should go. Do I go directly into staff work and do something that I know that I will learn from and would really enjoy or should I take a year off and go north, doing something that would give me extreme joy and pleasure, give me possibly a once in lifetime experience, and then come back to staff work after a year of working and ministering up north? I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know! Some of these decisions need to be made somewhat in the future, but the future is coming much too fast! The minute I tell God that I pretty much have things figured out, God reminds me He is in control and ultimately wants to give me what will be best for me. I hate to say this right now, but only time will tell! What a time this will shape up to be!

Wilderness and Escapism

In addition to having a great time in the mountains this past weekend, I also had a dark realization about myself and the people that I interacted with on my trip. Often times going into the wilderness is not only a way to get out and enjoy the natural world, but it also can be a vehicle to run away from the troubles and turmoil in our lives. Many of the people that were out for the weekend I interacted with noted that they really did not enjoy their jobs and came out into the mountains on the weekends to escape the turmoil and the boredom of their daily lives. I thought this was very sad and disturbing, until I realized that I do the exact same thing.

I constantly rejoice that God has given me a desire and passion to enjoy Him in His natural creation, I am also realizing that often times I use it in order to escape from my troubles and take my mind off of my unhappiness or frustrations. Often times when I am frustrated, confused, or just bored with my current situation, I simply fantasize about a "simpler" lifestyle in the woods, not to unclutter my life, but to simply escape the problems and ambiguities of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe that it is good to strive to simplify our lives, and to change aspects of our lives if we see that it is causing problems and strife in our lives, but I don't think that merely trying to get away from them by daydreaming or chronically escaping from them. In fact, I think that that is a fierce perversion of the beauty and tranquility of nature and the God that I seek in creation. Somewhere there has to be a balance between enjoying the simplified life that is attained in the natural world and difficult situations of where we find ourselves in the places where we currently find ourselves.

My prayer right now is that I can enjoy God and the places that I find myself in right now. Even though my transition from college life to "real life" is stressful and confusing, somehow I am hoping that I am led to a place where I still find peace in it and I can rejoice in the places that my life is going. Don't get me wrong, I still plan on enjoying the outdoors and the peace and simplicity that it offers; I merely hope that I don't drastically misuse it by putting it in an unhealthy place in my life.

Wilderness Comradeship at the Three Ridges

Two weekends ago I spent some time backpacking out in the Three Ridges Wilderness Area in western Virginia and had a fantastic time exploring the woods and mountains out there. I always enjoy getting out into nature and am happy pretty much anywhere I am if I am outside, but this past trip was absolutely amazing. I began my trip at sunset that Friday and spent my first hour hiking the trail along the ridge tops bathed in the beautiful orange light of the setting sun. The second day was clear and cold and I hiked along the ridge line again, experiencing beautiful views to the west and to the south. Finally, my last day on the trail took me through a dark and lush valley next to a fairly deep creek. The trail led me through a valley where the trees once had deep, dark green leaves, but they were then fiery yellow, giving the entire valley the look and feel of having a warm glow, even though it was a chilly thirty degrees in the area. All the scenery on my trip was absolutely fantastic!

The other part of the trip that I enjoyed was my eclectic companionship. Most of the route that I followed through the area was on the Appalachian Trail and I was able to talk to and hike with many of the folks who were hiking the entire trail. Most of them were coming from Maine and were on their way south, and they were more than happy to tell me some of the adventures that they had experienced on the trail and also were willing to listen to some of the outdoor adventure stories that I had to tell as well. As I spent time with these folks, I noticed a certain type of "trail culture" that all of them had. They were always willing to share their supplies with me, always willing to listen and talk about our experiences, and they were always willing to help or give advice to anyone coming down the trail. It was as if all of us had a small understanding of one another, that we knew that we shared similar experiences. We all knew that we had persevered through cold nights, eaten stale food, and hiked for many miles in driving rain. We knew that we had experienced intense thirst, twisted worn out bones, and fallen into knee-deep mud. And we also knew that we would do it all over again because of the peace, beauty, and tranquility that we have experienced in the wilderness. This type of "wilderness comradeship" was very interesting to experience and I enjoyed it immensely.

After I experienced this feeling of wilderness comradeship, I began to think about how we have something similar within the Christian community and how sometimes we do not. I believe that many Christians understand that one of the most basic aspects of our faith is to take care of one another and connect to one another in times of need. Often times, however, we fall short of this ideal and become extremely absorbed in ourselves. To some degree, I wonder if we also need to adopt some wilderness comradeship and try to remember that we as members of a Christian community also have similar hardships, have similar experiences, and have similar passions. We love and care for one another not only because we have to, but because we know that we have experienced the same hardships and joys, that don't understand many of the same things, and that we ultimately have the same passion of desiring to experience and to seek out God. I know that it really isn't completely that simple, but I wonder what would happen if we initially tried to connect with people by sharing our lives, our struggles, our passions, and our stories.