Are you surviving the final days of last-minute trips to the mall and preparations for the holidays? Thanks for stopping long enough to read about another “Advent Adventure.”
Shortly after Christmas, the staff announced to six of us that it was our turn for the 3-day survival hike. We had five minutes notice and were only allowed to grab our first-aid kits, canteen and machete. (Though, one girl also stuffed a roll of toilet paper into her backpack!) The staff led us into the jungle, walked us in circles, and then told us that we would be isolated from each other for the first 24 hours. Each of us had to make a survival shelter out of vines and tree boughs, and we needed to use the daylight hours to also gather firewood and collect edible plants. The thickness of the jungle effectively hid me from other campers who were only 50’ away.
My shelter was only half complete by the time darkness fell, but I had a fire going to keep me company. It took about 5 matches before I got one to light. I sang lots of hymns to keep my spirits up, until, that is, around 11:00 pm. At that point I ran out of firewood. I couldn’t chop more wood in the dark: I could not tell if it was cheching wood without light. Thus the choice was between my bed and my flame. I chose flame over sleep, and I burned up my shelter!
Isolation ended in the morning. It was wonderful to join with others as we formulated a plan to find our way back to camp. According to the script, we were archaeology students who had gotten lost searching for Mayan ruins. My hands became blistered from hours of using my machete, but we all made it home safely two days later.
Jesus once went on a survival hike that lasted 40 days. Matthew chapter 4 tells us that Jesus entered the Judean wilderness and had nothing to eat or drink during that entire period. He was not lost. He could have returned to civilization at any time, but he chose to follow God’s Spirit into the wilderness. Unlike me, he was alone the entire period. Satan tempted him with choices, not between a shelter and a flame, but between obedience and comfort.
What choices is God calling you to make in the New Year?
