When I go on a canoe trip, I like to pack a heavy food pack. Quite often the youth who go on a church canoe trip with me will remark about the weight of the pack, and maybe complain about my overzealous practice. I don’t apologize. It is just that I have been on too many trips with voracious teenagers, and I like to be prepared.
There have been days after a hard paddle when nothing seems to satisfy their appetites, and there have been cold rainy days when some extra packets of hot soup are just the ticket. On these trips I have also noticed the “aha” moment when they recognize that even with Pastor Mark packing the food, there still is a limit.
When we get out on the trail there is no grocery store or convenience store to run to for a forgotten item or for a little extra. We have what we packed, and that is it. Everyone on the trip by necessity readjusts to the reality that you just can’t go to the refrigerator or the cookie jar. At every meal around the campfire or the Coleman stove we recognize the portions available and the people with whom we share. Everyone who camps knows this fact. These are good lessons to learn in life.
On one canoe trip our food pack was ripped open by a bear. Our limited supply was depleted dramatically, and we still had a two day paddle before we got home. Theday after the bear, we met a couple at a portage who were in the same predicament because of a similar bear visit. Theyouth in my group dug into our food pack to share from our rations, limiting ourselves even more. We were hungry when we got back to Ely that year. But I can tell you I was so proud of those kids. And they can tell you, they wouldn’t have changed a thing, except for giving those people a little more.
My food pack gets me thinking about another wilderness group that had lessons to learn. When Moses led the people of God through the wilderness they didn’t have enough to eat. And they complained. The story tells us that God responded to their need and provided manna in the morning (Exodus 16.) Everyone got what they needed. They were instructed to take just what they could eat for that day and not more. Those that sought to hoard more than they needed found that it had rotted by morning. It was a lesson in providence, in sharing, and in gratitude.
It is good for us to look around at this amazing world God created and give thanks for the provisions God has put in place. It is right to recognize that there are others whose supplies are short. How we respond is in large part a function of gratitude. If we believe that we are solely responsible for what we have, and do not see that God is behind it all, we just might grasp it too possessively.
If on the other hand, we behold the giftedness of God’s providing, we are more open to share with others. As we behold the hardships some experience we see our responsibility. “Manna” is still all around, thanks be to God.
Recently, we have been told that the local food shelf has been running low on supplies. In this cold season we can’t let that happen. Recently, we are hearing about a great project that the Evangelical Free Church and Bethlehem Lutheran youth mission group are inviting everyone to share. Feed My Starving Children is a project that asks us to share a donation of money and time to pack 100,000 meal packets, each one enough to feed a family of six. Ask any of the church offices in Cook County for information on how you can help. What an awesome opportunity.
We are hearing the bells of Christmas ringing beside the Salvation Army Red Kettles reminding us of how simple it is to be a significant help. God has blessed you to be a blessing this season. Praise be to God.
Each month a member of the
Cook County Ministerium will
offer Spiritual Reflections. For
December, our contributor is
Reverend Mark Ditmanson of
Bethlehem Lutheran Church in
Grand Marais.
Leave a Reply