Camping Angel

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, 
To guard you in all your ways.

--Psalm 91:11--

(I hesitate to share this story lest people think I'm flaky. After reading this, you can draw your own conclusions.)

Ours is a mixed marriage. I like camping, Keith doesn’t. I think it’s wonderful, he thinks it’s chaotic. I finally started taking the kids camping by myself.

To our delight, when we still lived in Iowa, we discovered Palisades State Park in Garretson, South Dakota, just an hour from home. 

Garretson resembles Northwest Iowa. After driving through miles of cornfields - we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Then we found the park and and were properly awed. The park hugs a river that cuts a fascinating path through a few miles of cool red rock. We loved the rock formations and fun nooks and crannies. 

In September, 2006, the four youngest girls and I camped there for the first time. 

Trying to figure out which tent pole goes where

They're easily entertained.

Proud to have put up the tent by themselves for the first time.

They absolutely loved crawling all over that park. Hiking doesn’t accurately describe their approach. They climbed, crawled, hung over edges, waded, and stopped to look, talk, take pictures, throw rocks, sing, read signs, and pick up shells, rocks, or pinecones. Lots of fun and fresh air, but probably not much exercise. 

Amy (10), Erica (14), Lani (8), Anna (12)

Anna

Amy

Erica

Amy, Lani, and Erica

I couldn’t sleep the first night and kept tossing and turning. The weather forecast called for a 40% chance of thunderstorms. One of my quirks is a big fear of severe thunderstorms. I didn’t want to be in a tent in a bad storm. I heard thunder in the distance and prayed it wouldn’t come our way. The wind picked up a little and I couldn’t drop off.

The girls slept peacefully, oblivious to their mother’s insomnia. About 1:00 a.m., I prayed, “God, please help me get to sleep.”

Shortly after, I heard a car drive up. I peeked out of the tent and saw my husband’s car and thought, “How sweet. He came to check on us.”

He walked over and unzipped the tent. I wondered where to put him since we were already cozy. I scooched over a sleeping child, and unzipped a sleeping bag to lay over Keith and I. He laid down beside me, wrapped his arm around me, and I snuggled into his embrace and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Thankfully the storm went around us. The next morning I woke up and didn't see Keith. Dazed, I sat up and looked all around the tent but he simply wasn’t there. Erica saw my confusion and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Where’s Dad?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “Most likely at home.”

“No, he came. Last night, after you girls went to sleep. He must have went to the bathroom.”

I peeked out of the tent and his car wasn’t there. I used a cell phone to call him. He was home, and had been all night. He suggested that I had probably been dreaming.

I couldn’t have been. It was so real. I don’t remember before or since having such a vivid dream. Who had come to my tent?

The next night, there was no wind or distant thunder and I had no trouble sleeping. When I got home I described the “dream” to Keith. I wondered if it had been an angel.

Keith said, “I don’t know what happened, but you asked God to help you get to sleep and He did.”

Maybe this was a God thing, or maybe it wasn’t. In any case, I like to think there are a few angels in heaven who like camping. If the angels could visit the shepherds “camping” in the fields after Jesus’ birth, surely they could find Garretson, South Dakota. 

I love these two verses from Taps. 

(Picture this accompanied by a mournful trumpet.)

Taps

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh. 

I'm linking up with Jennifer at Getting Down With Jesus.