God Beside Me

For some reason I never have trouble doubting God's presence next to me when I am away from home in the outdoors. It is a mysterious thing where I can simply just rest and know that God is beside me and all I have to do is have faith to trust and know that He really is there and present. When I have less distractions and technology in my life I feel less irritated and more happy, and focused on what really matters and why I am called to live this life that God has planned for me. 
         One memory I have is of our most recent trip as a family camping at Whitewater State Park. This is an annual trip that we take every summer with my dad's co-workers and their families. As we sat around the bonfire late at night, laughing and talking, I was caught off guard by the intense welling up of gratitude that overwhelmed me and sent a surge of joy running through my entire being. Looking around at all the faces I thought to myself, "Wow. I have been taught by these people, corrected, loved and appreciated. Here I am now, a high school graduate sitting in their company in this same place that I have been since I was 6 years old, and now I really get to have the privilege of simply enjoying them." It is an amazing thing that we often aren't able to fathom, that God wants us to enjoy life. He even tells us very specifically in His Word, "Celebrate God all day, every day. Revel in Him! Don't fret or worry. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers letting God know your concerns."-Philippians 4. Lately, besides the immense feeling of gratitude I have been realizing how blessed we are as humans to have a God who desires relationship. A God who says, I want to talk with you, yes you! Wouldn't you want to spend time with me today so that I can bless you when you sit and talk with me?
        When we start to wake up and realize how simply good God is we are able to find what it means to rest in Him and have the privilege of knowing Him intimately. On this last trip to Whitewater State Park, (I hope to have many more and bring my kids there camping someday, God willing) I came to a deeper understanding of God always being with me and beside me. Looking back, I long to be there again, communing with our friends sharing the same campsite, waking up to seeing each other whether it's simply on our way out of our tent, or a good morning sitting beside each other by the campfire and reading before a long hike. I am so grateful for these people and this experience of fellowship. Camping is often times challenging, especially when you will find a frog in the bathrooms or a racoon that your dad is determined to scare off the campsite by punching it through the inside of the tent. 

The most beautiful part of the experience is the simplicity of friendship and time together as families. I look forward to next year and to right now trusting God more deeply because even here at home with all the distractions I know that He is right here beside me, even as I type this. Thank you dear friends, for this sweet experience and the memories that we have made together. Let's continue to share the fellowship of our lives spent together in our own kitchens and backyards. Peace to you, readers may this encourage you to be able to fathom the overwhelming grace that the God of the Universe is right there beside you, where you are reading this, right now.