“Help, help!” my husband yelled during the early hours of that January morning.
But wait! I am getting ahead of myself in telling this story. Let me go back to the beginning of a very interesting experience.
Looking ahead with anticipation to the arrival of our daughter Janelle and our six-year-old granddaughter from California, my husband Daniel asked if she would be willing to spend a night camping on our property during her visit. Remembering the long-ago days when she camped with her dad and her brother Greg up our West Virginia holler, Janelle agreed—as long as the weather wasn’t extremely cold or miserable.
We enjoyed some wonderful days together making memories, and the visit with our family was coming to a close—only two more nights to spend together. Sunday evening was the night chosen to experience the wilds of southern Illinois (but still within close proximity of our house, if needed).
Janelle and I were busy that day with other activities but Grandpa Daniel and little Emma kept busy hauling things to the camping spot chosen among trees just beyond the pond. A cookstove, chairs, tents, sleeping bags, firewood, and of course, food. That’s half the fun of camping, isn’t it —eating meals around a campfire? Emma put on a backpack and trudged through the woods so Grandpa could take a video of her. Close to sundown, things were ready; so the three of them rode in the pickup to the campsite. Why didn’t I go with them? I chose to enjoy the warmth of the house and the comfort of my bed that evening.
Photos began popping up on our cell phones. The two tents looking so classic among the backdrop of trees, Emma roasting a marshmallow and eating a veggie hotdog, a beautifully glowing campfire, Janelle sitting in her chair. It was getting darker and soon would be time to snuggle into the sleeping bags spread out inside their tents with everyone hoping for a good night’s sleep.
For the record, as Daniel went through his camping gear, he’d found only two down sleeping bags with low temperature rating. He gave those to Emma and Janelle while he took the lighter cotton sleeping bag for the night.
Goodnights were said as the girls went to their tent and Daniel put more wood on the fire and settled into the smaller tent for the night. You should know that we do have coyotes, raccoons, and bobcats (besides deer) roaming our property, so one never knows what to expect while in our woods. The outdoor temperature dropped through the night, and several hours after midnight, Daniel began hollering “Help, help!” from his tent.
Hearing the concern in his voice as he yelled for assistance, Janelle called back, “Dad, do you need help?” She figured he’d stepped outside his tent and something bad had happened.
As Daniel continued dreaming, his daughter’s response became part of his dream. But waking up from the crazy scenario playing in his overly active mind early that morning, he told Janelle he was only dreaming, and that he was heading back to the house to sleep since he wasn’t staying warm enough with his lightweight sleeping bag.
The next morning, he shared the dream. He was in the snow, being chased by people. He was running barefoot, and had fallen into a snowy ditch, where they had begun kicking him. He began hollering, “Help, help,” and then he heard Janelle’s voice asking if she could help him.
How precious it was that even in that dream, his answer and help came from someone very close by! Help was basically a few feet away, though he knew it not as he experienced the tragedy of his dream.
Isn’t that just like God? We think we’re alone. We need help desperately. And as we cry “Help, help!” into the thin air, God responds, even though we think we’re alone and that no one will come to our aid.
God has promised to never leave us and never to forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). What a comfort to lean hard into His presence. We are never alone!
