God thoughts

EN-ER-giz-ing …
6/8/2008 5:45:00 PM by: Elsi

I cannot remember ever being this tired. But that's not a complaint! No, far from it! This may be the healthiest tired I've ever been! Oh, I remember being tired after a three-day whitewater canoe float when I was a Mariner Girl Scout in high school. Sun and water and staying alert for the next rapids—that's mighty tiring! And I've been exhausted after a long day teaching, especially on parent conference nights. Whew ... ready for bed! But this ... I feel a bit like Indiana Jones, in his first movie. Remember when the girl comes to him after he's been all beaten up, and she says, "Is there any place you don't hurt?" Grumpily he answers, "My right earlobe." So she kisses that. And suddenly he discovers all sorts of places that don't hurt too much to be kissed! Not that anyone's clamoring to kiss me, other than loving licks from Lady and Dolphin, of course. But my feet ache and burn, and my ankles are sore. My hips are throbbing, and there's pain in my right leg. My back aches, and my shoulders hurt. I'm sunburned, and my eyes are dry, and ... as my friend Clarence Larsen would say, "May I serve you some cheese with my whine?" But I wouldn't trade one second of this weekend for anything! 'Cause all that's wrong with me is that I've been trying to be a teenager since 6:15 Friday evening. Yep, it's the youth group retreat in Estes Park! Ten teens: Chris, 6th grade; Haimei and Ruthie, 8th grade; Nancy, Karen, LeHao, Alex, and Samuel, 9th grade; Wanqing and Chris, 12th grade. Two old ladies: me and Vicki. And three much younger adults, recruited to deal with hiking and kickball and suchlike activities. Two cabins and my RV: a one-room that "sleeps four," except there's no floor space except in the bathroom when the hide-a-bed sofa is folded out; a two-room that "sleeps five" and worked out quite well. The RV held me and Vicki and Lady and Dolphin. Two days in Rocky Mountain National Park: Moraine Museum, a Visitor Center, hiking from Bear Lake to Ashley Falls, strolling around Sprague Lake, hiking up Old Fall River Road in search of bighorn sheep (no luck), hiking part of the Alluvial Fan trail, climbing on rocks, spotting elk and an owl ... Meals chosen, shopped for, prepared, served, and cleaned up after by the kids themselves: scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, toast, sandwiches, burgers, grilled corn on the cob, hotdogs, and oodles of snacks. Not to mention several extremely happy prairie dogs, gophers, and magpies who helped dispose of the leftovers. S'mores around a campfire both nights, kickball and football and frisbee around the gopher holes. Snow and rain and freezing wind, sun and glorious skies and all of God's glory around us. Devotional times when we worked with God's word, singing inspiring songs, laughing and sharing. And worship Sunday morning, led by our leadership team: Wanqing, Chris, and LeHao. Chris preached on the fruit of the spirit, especially as it applies to our rising 9th graders. Not a burn, not a splinter, not a scraped knee. No car sickness, homesickness, nor altitude sickness. As the 1860 gospel song goes, "All things are mine, since I am His: How can I keep from singing?"

Comments

	6/8/2008 10:26:27 PM

	It sounds like such a glorious weekend! Thanks for giving me a taste of all that transpired! I hope you can get some rest now!

	Jane,