Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love the north woods, and I love spending time with my Grandparents in their cabin even more! Ever since I went as a kid I have just been at home there, especially during the winter.

That all being said, something is distinctly different about this visit. Usually, Boulder Junction is the end of the road, my destination, the farthest North I have ever ventured to go. But not this time, this time, it feels like a bus stop on the way to a much bigger and better adventure. I know that this feeling of “this is just a bus stop” is not what God intended for life. Yet for some reason we do it all the time. I am sitting here in one of my favorite places in the world doing it, which means I don’t even want to venture to guess how many times I do it at Purdue.

Certainly we are meant to cherish and learn from each moment in life. So why don’t we? I am sure it branches all the way back to Adam and Eve simply being tempted into trying the fruit because they thought that maybe, the grass was greener on the other side, and that God really didn’t know what was best for them. Looking back, I can say most certainly that God does know what’s best for us, and for some reason our subconscious always brings us back to the same line of thought; we are the keepers of our own well-being, and know what is best for us. I wish I would have been more aware of this today as I went through all of my equipment and checked it, also making sure that Peter’s equipment would fit snuggly in the back of the car.

By the time I was done checking and packing my equipment, it all took up a very small portion of the trunk and rear seat of the car and was incredibly organized according to when I would need each individual item. I will have to admit that a certain amount of pride came over me as I put the final piece of gear into its place and looked at the packing job I had done. Surely that was as good as it could have possibly been, without having a much larger vehicle.

After locking up the car, I headed back inside just in time to avoid a rain shower that has lasted for the last 5 hours. At some point during these last five hours 20 dollars appeared on my bed and after asking everyone, Aunt Shirley finally confessed to the act of kindness. I thanked her tremendously, and know that an extra twenty bucks will definitely come in handy at some point down the road.

Around 8:00pm the drizzling rain turned into a fierce thunder storm that cut the power and caused tornado warnings to go into effect all throughout the north woods. It’s a funny thing being in the middle of a forest of tall trees during a tornado warning. If a tornado was to rip through these parts, it wouldn’t be hard to tell where it had been, and if you were unfortunate enough to be in its path, there is really no chance of survival with the trunks of trees flying everywhere up to speeds of 80 miles per hour. But on flip side, if you are outside the path of the tornado, the trees actually protect you from harm like a wall of sandbags in a firefight. Frankly I would just rather not have to deal with a tornado all together. Not to mention the power going out, which up here can last for hours, and in some situations days.

It was a swift and obvious reminder that from here on out, and always, for that matter, I am completely at the hands of God. Sometimes I feel like we prepare and plan things so precisely, and then get frustrated when He changes our plans. For me, the storm was a subtle nudge from Him saying “be still and know that I am God”. The whole day I had been planning and preparing with no regard to what God wanted me to do. I need that nudge, and I can guarantee that tomorrow I will be doing things with a much more focused perspective.