The Time I Saw Chaos Getting Hammered Into Grace

"He who has eyes let him see"

Two weeks ago now I was getting geared up for my winter camping trip to the boundary waters with a group of some of my closest friends. My prayers for this trip were that God would reveal himself in some awesome ways through my time spent out in His creation. I have to admit I was rather anxious about this trip. In the past I was in decent shape but sitting at a desk for a couple years had made me kind of squishy in terms of fitness. Despite my training for the month before I still did not feel prepared. It wasn't just that though there was just a general anxiousness in my heart. I had to drag myself out the door pretty much. I think it had a lot to do with the enemy trying to drag me down.

By God's grace I did not give in, I pushed and shoved my way to Duluth to meet the rest of the crew. After arriving, there still was no reprieve from the tension in my heart. That night we did not get to bed til about midnight and we had to be up at 3 to get ready to hit the road to make it up there at a decent time. Sleep did not come easily as my anxiety got the best of me. Before I knew it I was up and running to get my gear strapped into my pulk (sled). On a side note I was pretty excited to try my new pole design for my pulk and to get out and start taking pictures. In what seemed like a flash we were turning on the gunflint trail, then the lake access, then I was clipped in and marching toward our campsite, all of the sudden we were there, then the work began, then it was night, then I was in the tent talking about life with with my buddy Joe and that was it. The entire day was gone, all 17 hours of it was just a wash of movement and survival (goes to show you that despite having more time in your day doesn't mean it would give more time to relax). It wasn't until the next day when I took off on my snowshoes to find a quiet corner of the lake that God finally revealed all that was going on to me.

After finding said quiet corner of the lake I set up my camera for a time lapse found a decent rock for a seat and sat down. I opened my bible and started reading some of Luke. I got to chapter 14 and started reading Jesus' parables about people who missed out on an amazing opportunity. In some cases they had to simply let go of their pride, other cases they had to give up their own desires (which I suppose is kind of pride as well), and yet others should have sat down and considered the worth of it. Finally, after the length Jesus went to illustrate his points he succinctly concludes with 3 rather intense sentences. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

...

O porcupine, caught high in a tree, if only your little eyes could see, you would know the grace that surroundeth thee!

It was as if the aperture of my eyes were wrenched open letting the light of revelation pour into my mind. The last couple days made so much more sense then they had mere minutes ago. As the lens of my mind's eye focused in on the words God had written out for me, it clicked. All that was lost in the movement and survival came back and it was shown to be oh so good.

Sometimes life gets crazy, a lot of the times actually. When we were driving in to our access point we came up off the lake and up the hill where the moisture from Lake Superior had turned into a freezing mist. It caked all the trees in a heavy white frost. This persisted through the entire hike into our camp

site. It was incredibly beautiful. Especially as the mist turned to light snowflakes that fluttered down around us. Yet, I never really took the time to really take it in. I was so very focused on getting to the camp site and taking pictures that I totally missed out on the beauty of the frost. It seems sad I suppose but it all had to happen. I had to push. That's the thing about these excursions, they have a way of pushing you. It's out there in the constant cold silence that everything is moved around and stretched which then exposes all of those hidden nooks and crannies in the heart. I mean what better metaphor for life. You have to pull all the things you find necessary through the wilderness over hills and through deep, powdery snow. The more you hang on to the harder the trip becomes. Sometimes we become so occupied with the "trip" and making it happen that we totally miss the point of it all. It was ironic because even as I sat there writing down some of these
thoughts the snowflakes began their dance down from the sky once more.I was captivated (as I always am) by the beautiful intricate designs of the tiny flakes that found rest on my sleeves. Despite the peacefulness by which they came they were creating such a racket in my head. Each one was screaming, "you are cared for!" It hit me that I am loved despite all my foolishness. I mean I was out of shape because of laziness and complacency, I had my burden to pull on my pulk, and I had gotten caught up in "getting there." I had really screwed this opportunity up for myself. Yet, the trip wasn't over just like God's grace... it doesn't end when we mess it all up and let loose chaos. He just keeps taking that chaos we make and hammers it into something beautiful... a highlander style claymore... ahem... grace. Whether or not we are looking for it, it is there. Whether it's a bed of freshly fallen snow or colorful, unique lichen or the frozen lines of an icicle. His grace completely surrounds us constantly we just have accept it. All these beautiful things are not just merely signs of God's glory, creativity, and love but also, and I think most importantly, His grace.

In his fore knowing of our sin He has still chosen to bless us with it all. Even when we are weighed down by our faults and sin God is always surrounding us with such things to remind us His grace is always available. We just have accept it. No pride, no excuses, it's worth it. If we miss that we aren't fit for a pile of crap, so we better open up our eyes. So clip in and pull away remember it's not about getting there, it's about experiencing and knowing God's grace on the way and bringing others in on that experience. Because there is nothing like the light and warmth of the big bonfire at the end.

As always, take er easy.


For more photos from the trip click here