Where Are We Going to Pitch Our Tent?

Thursday greetings,

Growing up my parents would send me to Camp Calvin in Hampton, GA every year.  I still recall singing songs like , Kumbaya, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and Magalina Hagalina.  I loved every minute of the arts and crafts, cafeteria food, canoeing in the murky lake, and swimming in the huge pool.  I used to climb all the way to the top diving board and jump into the deep end.  I also enjoyed all the relay races, group competitions, playing with the seemingly millions of tiny wood frogs, and the endless field of sunflowers that acted as shade when we would practice archery.  But my favorite part of camp was sleeping in the hogans.  A hogan is hut made of logs and earth, and the ones we slept in where covered in canvas, smelled earthy, and were secure.

The counselors, on the other hand, slept in tents.  Regular, pegs-in-the-ground tents that, if necessary, could be moved from location to location.  While we had to climb a few stairs to get into our hogans, at least we had a door we could shut.  The counselors simply unzipped the front of their tents to gain access, but I recall seeing a hole or two where a snake could easily crawl in.  I always wondered if the big black rat snake that was once dangling from the limb of a tree that was rooted on the shore of the lake and came perilously close to falling into a canoe that was paddling right under it, was still roaming around the property and looking for the warm body of a counselor to nuzzle against.  At least I knew it could not get into my hogan, and I always felt like we were getting the better end of the bargain as far as housing was concerned -- until I learned the counselors regularly slept by the lake, by a fireplace, or out in the field under a thousand stars.

In other words, they had options that really enhanced their camping experience, and we do too.

"...I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope Acts 2:26 (The Message Version)."

Where are we going to pitch our tent?  Those camp counselors could have set up their tent over an ant's nest or muddy pit, but how wise of them to always pick a prime location.  We have those options as well.  It's up to us.  Shall we dwell in the valley of despair and fear? Or shall we set up shop in the lush green meadows and still waters of Psalm 23?

We pitch our tent in the far superior, healthier, immeasurably blessed land of hope when we decide that no matter what is happening all around us we will focus on our Lord and His goodness.  We refuse to pull at the stakes and move our tent when when the going gets rough.  We do as it states in 1 Corinthians 15:58 and, "stand our ground."

Prayer is the key to keeping us firmly rooted and focused on the Lord!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We have decided to pitch our tents in the land of hope.  Whenever we are tempted to move out of that land into a negative one, use your holy hammer to drive those pegs deeper still so that we stay tethered to hope. As the source of hope in our lives, fill us today until we are too full to move.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~