“I want to live here.” That was Anita’s response to our week long stay at a cabin in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area – a Superior National Forest area set aside for people to enjoy the wild pristine nature of lake, forest and all the creatures who live there.
We forget how God’s creation can rest and restore our minds and bodies. This is one place where that happens. As life dictates we cannot live in such places all the time. But I wish everyone could find a way to experience the amazing peace and rest that comes from escaping our noisy, busy modern lives. To live by the rhythms of the sun and moon. To be where the noise of machines can’t be heard. To step outside at night and witness the awesome Milky Way which can no longer be seen in the city.
If you have options and the possibility of making plans for your self or your family you could think ahead and consider leaving behind the Valley Fairs and the Six Flags and even the educational trips to museums or to family and friends living in other urban areas and in exchange head out to remote places where there may not even be a cell phone signal.
There was a time when we took our young family to the BWCA to camp and canoe. It is often the case for all ages that at first we don’t know what to do with ourselves, because we THINK there is NOTHING to do. Inevitably, that feeling passes as we adjust to down time. We acquire new eyes and ears. The rhythms of our bodies change to a slower pace, a kinder slower pace. So, we swam, fished, sat around a fire, watched the sun set and the moon ascend. When we left after ten days one of our first stops was a pizza place in Ely, MN. We were shocked and thrilled when our kids complained about the noise of the pinball machines, the music, and people talking loudly. Mission accomplished.
If I wish anything for you, it is to find space in your life to enjoy time apart where you can be refreshed and renewed.
