Our world is hungry for connection. People are desperate to belong somewhere. Because of technological advancements and virtual social platforms, we are seemingly more connected than ever online, yet, in reality, we are more isolated than ever. The need to be known and loved has become more apparent in each of us. The culture we live in has found momentary solutions for this isolation with a resurgence of spaces like food courts, clubs, and interest groups.
This is my year to be healthy! Does that sound familiar to you? I have declared that many times, yet I haven’t always (ok, hardly ever) reached or followed through with my health goals. I’m guessing many of you reading will admit that you are not the most disciplined in this area either; whether you are or not, please keep reading!
Hiking isn’t that hard, right? It’s basically just walking, and I walk everyday, so I can totally do this. This is what I kept telling myself as my trip to hike the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in one day (roughly 26 miles with 4,000 ft of elevation lost and then gained) came closer and closer on the calendar.
The year was 1986 and I was at a missions summer camp called Camp Nunny Cha Ha, held on the grounds of Falls Creek Baptist Assembly. It was a camp I looked forward to every year, where campers and counselors studied scripture together, sang songs, heard testimonies from foreign and local missionaries and had lots of fun in the Oklahoma heat. On the last night of camp, the guest speaker led us into a commitment time explaining that he felt the Lord was speaking to some of us in the room, calling some to accept Christ and others into special service (which was the term used for a call to ministry of some sort.)
