Page 28 in my life story of the year 2016 was a long one which is why I’m writing this the next day.  🙂  It was the final day of the camp conference that I was representing Impact Prayer Ministry at and it began with light fog in the valleys and the sun climbing its way over the far side of the mountains.  The more the sun worked its way over the mountain range, the more the fog tried to fill in the valley.  Within 15 minutes, the fog had spread all the way up to, and beyond, my 14th floor balcony.  As I packed up and left the room, the only view remaining was the hazy outlines of some of the nearer hills.

It was a great conference and I believe it was a good conference for me and the prayer ministry.  I went with a total of 4 boxes of books and when I packed up the display, all of the remaining books on the table fit in 1 box.  It is my prayer that as people go home, they will find the resources they picked up to be useful in their walk with Christ and perhaps even in their camp ministry.  As the closing session began, the conference did their final giveaways for the week.  I had been asked to “introduce” my contribution for these door prize drawings and considered it a privilege to do so.  My cameras have become incredible tools in the time I spend in personal worship of God.  I had taken with me a 20″ x 30″ high-gloss mounted photo that was a close up of a day lily.  My title for this photo art is “Consider the Lilies” and on the back was a label  with the tile and the passage from Luke where Jesus instructs us to consider the lilies and how God clothes and provides for them with great beauty.  As we consider that, He reminds us that we are of much greater value to Him so we should be confident in His care for us.  Having experience as a camp staff member, I was able to relate that I understood the financial pressures that often can seem overwhelming and even of greatest importance to others.  I encouraged this group of camp leaders that during those times, they should consider the lilies and take all of their needs and concerns to God first.

It was going to be a long drive home, so I headed out and began the journey.  About an hour and a half into the trip, I encounter road construction on the interstate that had it down to one lane and a back-up that led to a six mile stretch of highway taking 45 minutes to get through.  Instead of being frustrated, I pulled out a Dr Pepper and the rest of the package of sliced turkey (the same package, that I hadn’t planned on getting, from the first day of the trip) and used the slow crawl down the highway as an opportunity to have lunch and listen to some worship music.  I had my iPod connected to the truck’s radio and found a folder on it labeled “camp”.  It seemed like a fitting assortment to listen to as I headed home from a camp conference.  It was all of the music I had used for worship times, meal times, wake-up times, recreation times, and all other times the last time I had been dean for the 5th & 6th grade camp week.  The music ranged from “I’m so Happy” to “The Water Buffalo Song” to “This is the Air I Breathe” and everything in between.

After a quick stop south of Louisville to pick up my father-in-law, the trip home resumed.  This time my GPS warned me of a 45 minute delay ahead and re-routed me around it.  We reached the backed up traffic just as I exited to go around and it was still six miles away from where the signs said the construction was taking place.  I even thought about this being a lot like life — sometimes we are able to hear the warnings and avoid the hardships and troubles that would occur if we kept on our current path.  Other times we either get no warning or we don’t notice or pay attention to the warnings that come and we simply have to live through the difficulties, seeking God’s help to make the best of whatever circumstance we find our self in.  This takes us back to my photo and our need to always “Consider the Lilies” and trust God to care for us when things go as we planned and when things don’t go as we planned.