On Sunday, we spontaneously decided to go camping. So we packed up our little Ford Ranger and rolled over to the Yakima Canyon. It ended up being really windy, and the next morning, our neighbor came over and struck up a conversation with us.
After a bit of talking, Scott, the nice old neighbor, invited us over to his luxury camper to meet his wife. Katrina, said wife, was surrounded by a 4-pound poodle and a 10-pound shih-tzu, and we all bonded immediately.
"It's pretty windy out there, we should go to a different campsite."
We all agreed, and we decided to caravan over to another site--one that was supposedly less windy.
Anyways.
Along the way, the old couple grew more and more attached to Colin and I. They started calling us their children, and claiming they were our mom and dad. At first it was cute, but it very quickly became uncomfortable.
We had known these two for less than 24 hours, and they were already giving us family cookbooks, signed to "My Girl" from "Mom (Katrina)".
I found out that Katrina wrote books, and she gave me one called "Angel Reflections." Sneakily, I read the "About Me" section of the book and discovered that Katrina was a revered psychic that talked with angels. To be honest, it made me a little more uncomfortable.
Later that night, Scott started talking about aliens, and asked me what I would do if I were to encounter one.
I said, "Well... I don't know."
He talked about aliens taking on human forms and trying to blend in. After an awkward pause, he looked over at his wife, chuckling, "Well, there I go, Katrina. I told them our secret."
Sure, it may have been a joke, but... it kept me up that night. I pictured Scott standing outside our tent door, with an alien head and eyes.
Colin and I had subject for conversation that night, to say the least, as we lay on our sleeping bag.
"Did that creep you out a little?," Colin asked me.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yup."
After a heavy pause, Colin spoke up again: "What is God trying to teach us?"
What is God trying to teach us?
Almost the entire time this was happening, I failed to notice that God was still involved. There were SO many distractions--aliens, psychics, lonely old people, a camping trip that ended up being the most bizarre two days of our lives.
But God was there. And He had a purpose for us being there.
Earlier that night, we pulled out our guitar and started playing. I tried playing a few secular songs like "Better Together" by Jack Johnson and "Blackbird" by the Beatles, but for some reason my voice wouldn't find the right octave.
"Just play a worship song, bibi." Colin finally said.
And so, I did. I played Jesus, Lover of My Soul and Nothing Can Separate. After I was finished, I noticed Scott was crouched down with his eyes closed, his hands folded against his lips. Katrina was looking at me with curiosity.
"If you don't mind me asking, what religion are you?" She asked.
"Christian." I responded.
"You mean Mormon?"
"No... Just Christian."
She nodded her head, thoughts running behind her eyes. "I believe that there is a God. I also believe in the Holy Spirit and in Jesus, but I don't know what I feel about them having the same power." She chuckled lightly, staring into the fire and poking it with a stick. "Sometimes I talk to God. It's weird, I know, but I can hear him talking back."
I watched her with a smile. "That's not weird," I said, "God wants us to talk to him, and if you can slow down enough to hear him talk back, then I'm sure he likes that too."
"But I'm always asking questions. The other day, I asked him, I said, 'God? Is Jesus my Brother or is he my Father?' and I heard God laugh lightly, and he said 'Just wait and you'll find out.'"
"Well," I said, recalling a certain Scripture, "The bible says: 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' (Matthew 7:7) It's okay to ask God questions. I think if we knew everything about God, he wouldn't be much of a God, don't you think?"
She laughed at that. "Yes, yes. Very true."
I learned something last night.
We shouldn't get all wrapped up in the strange things of this world. We shouldn't be afraid of anything, because...
"...God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
-(2 Timothy 1:7)
If we get all wrapped up in ourselves and our petty fears, we will MISS God's plan for us. Who knows what those two were going through? They had just lost a son three years ago to cancer... maybe they were lonely? Maybe Colin and I reminded them of their children, whom they haven't seen in years? Sure, it may have creeped us out a little bit at times, but the Bible says:
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
-(Matthew 7:1)
If Colin hadn't snapped me out of it, I would have missed God's purpose. How absolutely ridiculous would the night have seemed if God hadn't been a part of it!
Last night, I experienced God's love for every one of his children.
He loves Katrina. He loves Scott. Sure, they may be a little off their rockers, but God welcomes the questions and their open hearts. He isn't afraid of questions. He is fulfilling this promise to Katrina:
"...Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
-(Matthew 7:9-11)
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