Things I Learned at Camp by Susan L.

  It is much warmer at night in June than in September. A skinny air mattress is much more comfortable for me than the thick one that constantly threatened to toss me onto the floor. A folded duvet under my sleeping bag prevents the chill rising from the ground. A pillow is not necessary. (Oops, I knew I forgot something!) There are a gazillion hidden birds in the trees who greet the promise of dawn while it is still dark. Off brand mosquito repellent works really well. So do the cheap mosquito coils from the dollar store. I really don't like vault toilets (concrete outhouses). Fireflies also live in the woods, not just open spaces. Owls only make their presence known when the campground is nearly empty. Coffee tastes extra good outside. It gets darker earlier in the trees than in the open. The quiet zone of a campground isn't necessarily quiet. A thin cushion stops the canvas seat of a folding chair from cutting into the back of my legs. Spring firewood is really crappy but smoky, also a mosquito deterrent and it makes hotdogs absolutely scrumptious. Marshmallows, not so much. Racoons are bold as brass. So are chipmunks. The sand is hot at the beach. The water, cold.
  But most of all, troubles seem to vanish for a while. Walking along a trail enveloped in the trees of God's green cathedral fills the soul with peace. Listening to the water splash among the rocks, a hymn of worship, fills the heart with a sense of the eternal nature of God. Watching the flickering flames of a campfire infuses the soul with the sense that nothing else matters but being in the here and now.
  Thank You, Lord for all Your creations.
  "So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power, and Your glory." Ps 63:2