Night Hike

by Cindy F.

A hike on a dark night, all alone, can be a scary thing. Add that it is in an unfamiliar area, and that you are not allowed to bring a flashlight. Then add the fact that you are a 10 or 11 year old girl away from home.

This “solo night hike” was one of many challenges that the girls I was with this past week faced at outdoor science camp. I was impressed with how many of them conquered - or at least faced - some of their fears. Just before the students began this particular challenge, their naturalist sat down with them in the forest and read to them the following portion of scripture:

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:1-12

What a great way to help them understand how close and how real and relevant is the Lord and his love for them! Several of them were frightened. Although I loved the solo hike, I recognized that other things in my life can certainly cause me to fear. This physical exercise really helped to make this passage more meaningful. Meditate on this passage today. Perhaps you might want to act it out yourself on a dark night (just avoid places with poison oak!). It’s like when we put scripture to music instead of just reading the words. It’s inspired me to think of more ways to act out scripture for myself and for my kids.

Lord, thank you for knowing us so intimately, and being so involved in the details of our lives. Thank you for showing these girls more about who you are in a very real way. I ask that the lessons they learned from your Word and your beautiful creation will stay with them throughout their lives. Help me to know that your hand is always leading me.