The Luna Moth

This world overflows with creepy-crawly things that in my everyday life generally go unnoticed.  I have become more than familiar enough with the beetles that eat my roses.  My first discovery of them, I was horrified of them and thought them ugly.  After more than 15 years of rose gardening, I think they have their own beauty.  After two decades of gardening, I am tolerant but generally not fond of the vast assortment of the creepy-crawly things. 

Boy Scout camp enhances my awareness of the creepy-crawly things.  The common flies, ants and mosquitoes exist at camp, but it is the diversity of moths, beetles and spiders that enthrall and mesmerize me.  I was not to be disappointed during the week at camp earlier this month.

 Daddy long-legs kept me company in my tent at night, in the latrine, the shower and most any place that I decided to sit.  While I am an admirer of the daddy-long legs, when one decided to make my cot his place to sleep during the day, I escorted him out of my tent unceremoniously!  

The creepy-crawly things are not my favorite part of camp, yet I become fascinated at the variety of these creatures that exist in God’s kingdom.  I tell myself that they exist for a purpose and that they are more afraid of me than I am of them (HA!).

One hot and muggy afternoon, I finally managed to sneak in a shower while the scouts were busy canoeing, climbing, hiking and creating interesting pieces of art.  It felt good to wash off layers of insect repellent, perspiration and dirt. With my personal hygiene complete, I stopped outside the shower house to put on my shoes.

My attention was drawn to something green on the wall.  It was large, about the span of my and from thumb to pinky.   A closer look made me think it was a moth of some sort.  If it was a moth, it was by far, the largest that I had ever seen.  Its wings were substantial, not feathery looking like a normal moth.  It has a tale almost 2/3 of an inch long.  I got as close as I dare and took a picture.  Could it be a pre-historic moth of sorts, I thought as I scurried down the path to the campsite.  I thanked God for the chance to see this beautiful creature.  In the hast of life, even at camp, I managed to stop and admire an exotic and remarkable creepy-crawly thing of some sort.

Every time I took a shower for the rest of the week, I looked for the moth, but didn’t see it. Near the end of the week, I glimpsed the sight of another one of these marvelous creatures.  This one appeared to be injured.  It was trying to move its wings, but was not able to fly away.  Like most insects, it would probably die soon.  I learned from a Scouter who was passing the same way that it was a Luna moth.

Later, I learned that the Luna moth is nocturnal, attracted to light (does it try to fly to the moon?) and it is quite common in the Eastern United States.  While the moth may be a common insect, the mystery of my encounter with it was not diminished.   My encounter with this beautiful creature is one of the highlights of my week at Scout camp this year.  Moreover, a good reminder, in the haste of a busy, hectic life, to take a deep breath and thank God for all of the beautiful, wonderful things on this earth – even the creepy-crawly things.

               

Hot as Hades!

There isn’t any way to get away from it. The news has been broadcasting its coming for days.  The local convenience store is out of ice. A car in front of me had all of the windows down and the driver was opening the door at each traffic light, to try to keep cool. Even Face Book friends are commenting on it.  When you to outside, you walk into a wall of heat.    

Accommodations are being made for the heat.  One friend’s company cancelled work because of the number of employees who take the bus, the Metro and walk. My sister is working from home.  At 6:30 am this morning, I saw a man mowing a lawn.  Camps are adjusting schedules to keep children safe. 

My act of defiance today is to wear snowman earrings. They don’t keep me any cooler, but they make we smile!

Yes, it is hot. It is also mid-summer in Washington DC.  The thought occurred to me that this three-day intense annoyance of hot, sticky weather can’t begin to compare the misery and agony of Hell.  I don’t often think about the details of an eternal life in Hell, but on this afternoon, those details were on my mind.

I recently purchased the Letters of St. Boniface (priest in the 7^th century) from a used bookstore, not being able to resist the bargain and the opportunity to read letters from the 600’s.  The second letter in the book was very disturbing, if not also captivating to read.  It reiterated the “Vision of a monk at Wenlock”. In this vision, the monk describes hell, purgatory and heaven.  Phrases like, “unspeakable groaning and weeping of souls in distress”, “pitch-black fiery river, boiling and glowing”, and “undying flames that torture forever” were used to by the monk to describe Hell.  This is what came to mind when I thought of that place of eternal damnation on this 100-degree day.

We want to believe in a benevolent and all loving God.  He does want us to love Him in the way that He loves us.  That means conforming our will to His.  He asks us to do this in spite of our society that encourages each of us to do what we want, when we want, no matter what effect it has on others.  None of us wants to recognize that following our will has consequences that could result in an eternal life away from God, which includes “undying flames” and a “fiery river”.

On this stifling day in our nation’s capital, I couldn’t help but pray for forgiveness for my sins, asking Him for help in doing His will, and thanking Him that this heat wave will only last a couple of days, not forever.

A Dark Forest

I spent last week at Goshen Scout Reservation – not because I love to sleep on a cot with a tent full of insects all week – but to assist the Boy Scouts in tracking their advancement. This job comes with all the amenities of camp – sleeping in tents, trips to the latrine in the middle of the night, and the need for flashlights and lanterns when the sun sets.  I am not an experienced camper and faced many challenges during the week.

Late in the afternoon of the second day of camp, we experienced a torrential rainstorm.  A river began to run through the adult campsite.  Our Boy Scouts gained great joy and satisfaction in coming to the rescue of the adults by building a dam of rocks and logs that diverted the water into the woods.  After dinner and the retiring of flags, adults had a “crackerbarrel”. (In Scout language, it is a get together with snacks.)  The events of the day had taken a toll on my mind and my body and I decided to go back to camp before my fellow leaders.

I carefully walked alone from the pavilion, past the commissary and halted as I was about to walk into the forest.  My journey so far had been in the dark, but there were lights on the buildings, so I had assistance of some light other than my flashlight.  I took one step on the path into the forest and hesitated.

“I can’t,” was my thought as my heart began to race and I felt a shiver of fear race up my back.  It was pitch black – as dark as I had ever experienced. Holding my flashlight horizontally, I couldn’t see our campsite. I couldn’t see the bridge that I had to cross.  I couldn’t even see down the hill.  When I shined the light at my feet, I could only see two, maybe three steps ahead.

This novice camper was about to run back to the safety of the crackerbarrel when a sudden surge of courage descended on me. I cautiously took one step at a time, into the forest, down the rocky path that lead to the bridge.  As I carefully navigated my way, I was suddenly struck by the thought that this experience was a reflection of one of my biggest challenges in walking with Christ.

By focusing systematically, allowing the flashlight to show me just the next step in my journey, I had all that I needed to safely reach my campsite.  Similarly, in life, the Lord gives me all that I need to take the next step.  But, I want to see the big picture and want to know where I am going.  Our Lord is with me every day, showing me the next step, but much of my day is spent thinking or worrying about next week, next month, next year and on and on.  As I crossed the bridge and began walking up the path to the campsite, I felt more confident and was not frightened during the final phase of the adventure.

Entering the campsite, I was still reflecting on the similarity of being guided by a flashlight and being guided by God. I must have needed to have the message reinforced. As I entered the camp, I shone the flashlight upward, creating a shadow that frightened me enough that I threw my arms up in the air and let my flashlight fly into the dark.  It fell under a tent platform. I had to get on my hands and knees, in the mud, and reach as far as I could to retrieve the flashlight.  As my fingers strained to grasp the flashlight, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation.  If I had kept the flashlight on the ground, I wouldn’t be retrieving my only light source from the mud. I pictured the Lord shaking his head, wondering how many times I was going to need to learn this lesson.

Then, I stood up and realized that I had left my backpack at the crackerbarrel.  “I won’t forget this evening,” I thought as I turned around and headed down the path in the dark.  This time, I knew that my flashlight was all that I needed and I enjoyed the walk though the dark forest.

When You Wish Upon a Star?!?!

Tuesday night, I was at DisneyWorld with my husband and 14 year-old son.  It was a beautiful summer night, contrasted by the pain that I felt from my feet that had traipsed around the Magic Kingdom for 14 hours.  At exactly 10 pm, the fireworks began.  And they were dramatic and colorful and loud. 

In order to understand the context of this post, you need to know that I have a love/dislike relationship with Disney.  It has been four years since we visited DisneyWorld and I wondered how I would feel about the experience this time.  I can't remember the number of times we were "welcomed home" on our first day.  The customer service is nearly perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed the days spent in the parks.  However, Disney is also a marketing machine that may be unsurpassed in the business world.  I couldn't help but think how many visitors will unpack their bags at home and wonder why they purchased all of the Disney merchandise.

So, as I am watching the fireworks and singing along with the song, I listen to the words.  "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."

All I could think is, "This is not the message we should be giving to our children".  We need to let them know that wishing upon a star will not give them what they need.  And even if their dreams do come true, it may not be why they were created for this world. 

The only way for them to get what they need, is to believe in the saving word of Jesus. Building a personal relationship with our Savior will help them to achieve what it is that they were born to do in this world.

Living that relationship does not preclude spending a few fun-filled days in a fantasy world filled with friendly characters and thrilling rides and beautiful fireworks. It just means that they -and we -must realize that it is simply a fantasy world and no amount of wishes on stars will help them fulfill their destinies.