Delight: Take 2

A few days ago,   I returned from the Grade 8 Class Camping Trip to the Bruce Peninsula National Park, Fathom Five National Marine Park, and Tobermory. This trip brought with it a lot of interesting experiences, and a range of emotions that I didn't really expect.  I full expected that I would have a great time with this group, that I would see Joe very little, and that I would receive a glimpse of a totally different part of God's creation.   What I didn't expect was how much it made me think of my Dad, how much I missed sharing this with Ray,  how we all experience God's majesty in different ways,  and how much I missed listening to music(camp songs are great...really....I like them a lot...but...um...I was so glad to hear sounds that really move my soul.)

I had a really great time.   I had soo much fun with all the kids and other chaperons.  Joe preferred I just blend in and not be his parent...and as much as I could I tried to respect that.   Once in a while a mom just has to step in, whether this is appreciated or not...mostly it wasn't.    The sound that was most refreshing to hear instead of "mom, mom, mom...." was "Mr. Wolting, Mr. Wolting, Mr.Wolting...."   It was as if we weren't even there, and certainly not needed.     Nice.

One of my favourite things about camping (and I haven't always liked camping, let alone find something that I like MOST about it!!).....is the flora.   Most exciting of all the things I saw...was this...spotted on a roadside out of the corner of my eye.  This is the "Showy Pink Lady's Slipper".   Before heading out to the Bruce Peninsula National Park I did a bit of reading on the website about the ecology and discovered that 44 of Ontario's 60ish species of orchids are found here.     Cool.    I hoped I would find time for pictures, and sacrificed a trip into town for ice cream to capture this on our way home from the beach.   Apparently, that's a geeky thing for a grown up to do, but I'm quite secure in my coolness.   I'll have to total up how many varieties of orchids I did actually spot...at least 4.  And a few other people thought it was neat too!   We did have ice cream the day before when we explored the little town of Tobermory.   It was as good as Cows Ice Cream!

I had the opportunity to go along on the hike to The Grotto on the last day of our trip.   The terrain instantly reminded me of Fundy National Park.  It was damp-ish and the stones slippery.   It felt like you were in the Canadian version of the rain forest, moss covered logs and stones, and constant drips around you.  And it just feels dark.   Being with a group reminded me of the time we spent there with our whole family in 1997. I remember  how keen my Dad was to go on as many hikes as we could possibly squeeze in, how strong and tireless he was.  Stamina honed in the potato fields in the days before roguing carts made their appearance.  On the way back to camp, I told Joe how much Pake would have loved this place, and this hike.  He loved it then.  Did I?  Will Joe someday want to take his kids to places like this?      My Dad loved to photograph nature.   He loved a great view, and the demands it usually takes to get the photograph of that great view.   To hike down to the waterfall and then back up again.  To jump onto that big rock in the middle of the stream and keep your feet dry.   It's how he enjoyed and delighted in God's creation.    I realized how much of my Dad is in me.  And then after thinking about that for a while it's also My Father in me.     How much I love to experience God's creative power in the very small things at the periphery of my vision.   The things you see out of the corner of your eye....not terribly obvious at first glance, but unmistakable with a double take.

I'm glad to have gone on the last big hike, taking the "scenic route", and make a cool discovery about life in general. I had the honour of being the "rear guard", making sure that everyone stayed the course...which we had only recently rediscovered after creating our own way for a short-ish while.  We were hiking along, heard a bird song, and I wondered out loud which bird that might be.  The other chaperon, Mr Wolting, commented that I must be a details person, because he hadn't heard it.    After thinking about that for a few moments, I realized that the things I love about being in the bush, and hiking are all about the details.  Seeing the little things, finding wildflowers that I never laid eyes on before.  And if truly the eyes are the window to the soul, then the things we see have the potential to move us, deeply.    It's how God continually reveals Himself, and how I reconnect.  It's like re-establishing intimacy with Him.   I'm a details person.  I marvel at the colours I see, the structure of plants....I like lichens (Yes, Mary I saw False Pixie Cups!), mosses, ferns...I love the colours, and the contrasts.   I LOVE sunsets. Some people are more fiercely moved by grand vistas,  and soaring cliffs.   My Dad was like that.   He loved a great view.   

One point in the grad speech was that God delights in us and our differences, and that we delight Him just by being who He created us to be.  The flip side is that it also guides the we way delight in God:  the way we worship,  the way we meet God in our everyday,  and the way we are awestruck by the complexity and grandeur of Creation.

I love those moments when you discover something new about yourself that was there all along.  When you recognize a tendency in yourself, (or when someone points out something they see in you) you understand yourself better.   A new facet of the Creator revealed in you.  We reflect these characteristics of God to those around us, and in loving and recognizing God in His people, we also see a more complete composite of God.    This is the blessing of being with God's people, why it isn't good for us to exist in isolation.

I missed being able to share these things with Ray right away...to have to wait to tell him: that he missed the initial excitement that you can't recreate in the retelling.   I'm so excited to be going to Wabikimi together!


Leaving to go home is always really hard.   I'm beginning to understand why.  It's because I have to leave a place where I have reconnected with my Creator.  Even when there are 30-some other people around.