A Safe Place To Land
Morning Watch Mondays
Welcome back to our blog series, written by Matt Sloan, Camp’s Chaplain and Shoulder Season Events Director. These “Morning Watch Mondays” will be posted twice a month, inviting a moment of reflection the same way our daily Morning Watch times do during the summer.
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I did not grow up in these North Carolina hills. I was a flatlander, from the pine trees and sandy soil of Columbia, South Carolina. I didn’t know I was living under the constant burden of incessant heat until many years later, but my parents knew.
One summer, they made a plan for us to escape the heat and head to the mountains of Western North Carolina, to a little place called Sliding Rock. I was quite young, around 6 or so, when the Sloan family made this venture to take on the wilds and mysteries of nature in search of a cool mountain stream.
There were 6 of us in total, yours truly being the 3rd of 4 children. Let’s just say the Sloans are a touch dramatic and risk averse, so we were all quite skeptical to be the first to take a step out onto the wet Sliding Rock. Yet I watched as my oldest sister Buffy bravely made her way out there first. I was mesmerized - and scared for her - but she was doing it! Until our worst fears came true.
She lost her footing and started sliding down the rock towards impending doom (I told you we were dramatic). She was heading right past me, fairly close to the trail, so I stuck my hand out to help. Buffy reached out but to no avail. She slid past me, but not before hitting my hand enough for me to lose my balance and fall onto the rock, beginning a fear-riddled slip n’ slide of my own. I’m sure I was screaming, it all happened so fast.
Yet, I remember that as I involuntarily breakdanced my way down the rock I saw my dad at the bottom. He was grabbing a tree and reaching his leg and hand out like a goalkeeper, first rescuing Buffy, and finally saving me from the grasp of that blasted Sliding Rock. I mean, we could have slid all the way down and landed in a pool of water! Though we weren’t in as much danger as I thought we were in at the time, I’m so thankful my dad held onto that tree to rescue me and Buffy.
We each have times when before we know it, things feel like they are suddenly sliding out of control in our lives. Maybe we are anxious often and we can’t figure out how to stop it, or maybe we find ourselves living with fear that feels like too much for us to handle. Many times very difficult events even happen in our friend groups or in our own families!
Did you know that we have a God who has run down the trail in front of us, has grabbed hold of a tree and reached out to save us? 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a wholehearted sacrifice for our sins.”
God knows that our hearts need to be rescued, and sent His Son Jesus to grab hold of the cross to save us from all of the hurt and fear and anxiousness that we feel in our lives. He is our safe place to land. It is impossible for us to handle living our lives without His help. In fact, He made us to be in constant relationship with Him! He is our rescuer!
Question of the Day: Can you think of a time that you needed to be rescued from something? Who helped you? How did that feel?
Thought to Consider: Thanksgiving is a great time to spend a few minutes thanking God and the people around you for how they care for you! I dare you to thank someone…even your brother or sister!