Canadian Wilderness

[GCTSgcowper]

Day One: The Wilderness. I love all four seasons of the east coast Canadian wilderness. I like getting out in the woods in the summer, leaving my RV, hiking to a waterfall, and going for a dip. I enjoy walking through the crisp fallen leaves in the fall while looking at the display of colorful leaves dancing in the wind. While snow shoeing last Saturday and breathing in the brisk cool air, I considered my creator. I look forward to the smell of spring, mud, and new growth as I anticipate dangling my fishing line when the ground hogs finally come out for good. It’s certainly not the desolate desert or a tropical “survivor island� however the Canadian Wilderness can be a place to meet God.
“The wilderness is a place of dependent, disciplined, purifying solitude where God must be trusted. Deserts bring people quickly to the end of their self-sufficiency and independence.� Many times in ministry, I want to be self-sufficient. I want to be able to get by on my own. I like independence. I like to figure things out. Occasionally I don’t know what to do or to say and I find myself alone in a wilderness needing to trust God.
I am discovering that I need to be more intentional about retreating to the wilderness as Jesus did. Jesus would often go to the outback. He was seen on Galilean hillsides, by lakes watching the boats, and possibly even mountain climbing. Jesus would retreat to the wilderness to pray, trust, and hear.
In my times of retreat, I take time to unplug my technological gadgets. I search for God to reveal himself. I observe, pray and listen. I try to identify God’s voice. Often I wait a while. God sometimes speaks through the bubbling ripple in the stream offering me direction. I sense my Creator God in the scent of an evergreen and gain insight into a situation. I taste God in the snowflake falling against my lips and I determine what to say. I search for God with all my heart and I find God all around me in my Canadian Wilderness. “Words of life� are found in my ‘midbar’ experiences.
I have heard God’s words of life. I trust. I return to the routines of my life and ministry invigorated to continue and press on to offer words of life to others.