I have a favourite camping spot. Amy would argue it’s not “truly” camping because we are parked like sardines, side-by-side other trailers. Crammed in with the sweet scent of your neighbour’s black tank changing the taste of your morning coffee.
Regardless, Horse Lake near 100 Mile House is my favourite. It’s less about the spot, and more about the nostalgia.
Lake Traditions
We grew up going to Horse Lake as a family. People come from all over to fish on Horse Lake. It’s a fishing village with fish cleaning huts and the sound of early morning two-stroke boats smoking through the waters.
I have pictures upon pictures of me and my dad and grandpa holding up the morning catch. After decades away from Horse Lake, Amy and I decided to take the boys and start our own traditions.
Everything still looks the same.
Jump In!
One night I took our little rented aluminum boat out at dusk with the two older boys. It was getting dark, and we wanted to sneak in a last-minute fish before the sun set.
Floating across the lake, the boys started chatting about how dark the water looked. We started sharing scary stories of what lurked beneath. The sun was setting, and as we fished adrift in the stillness of the evening, I turned off the motor, put my fishing rod in the holder, and cannonballed off the side of the boat.
The boat started drifting away, the boys screaming or laughing, just on the brink of crying. I called out, “The water’s great—jump in!”
They yelled back, “We have our clothes on!”
“The water is too dark!”
“It’s too cold!”
“We’ll float away!”
“Maybe!” I replied.
They looked at each other, laughed, and jumped!
Swimming earnestly towards me, I saw the terror and excitement in their eyes. Time stood still for those few minutes as we laughed, continued to tell scary stories of the “freshwater sharks,” and then made our way back to the boat that sat slapping on the calm waters.
In the Dark Places
Following God is terrifying and amazing.
He leaves us with constant reminders of his goodness and sovereignty, yet we are also reminded that “In this world we will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” There are a lot of unknowns, the water is dark, stormy at times, and a lot of things lurk below. And yet, God calls us to get out of the boat (Matthew 14:22-23).
I’m convinced that if we step out of the boat and trust God in how we raise our kids—trusting that if we are faithful to raise them in His ways, then He will be faithful to meet us in those dark places. Places of uncertainty. Places of unfamiliarity. Places that are scary and unknown.
Sometimes we just need to get out of the boat.
In the end, we didn’t catch any fish and we froze our toes off riding back to the trailer. But it was definitely worth it!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?