Camp Barnabas 2014

I am tired.

TRIED, even.

Holly and I left town at 5:30 THIS MORNING, and headed up to Missouri to pick up Joshua. He had been at Camp Barnabas all week. Jim and I took him the morning after Logan's wedding, and today is the day we were picking him up!

Joshua has been going to this camp for 11 years! I've written about it before, here, here, here, here, and here.

I had been watching a line of severe weather yesterday. It looked like it was going to pass right over Camp. You cannot imagine the intense worry and fear over storms until you've been around a group of FRIENDS like the ones who attend Camp Barnabas. Just the ones who go to Therapeutic Recreation with Joshua get beside themselves when there's a storm.

I got up at 4 a.m. because I couldn't sleep. The first thing I did was check the weather. Didn't look good. I packed rain gear and a large towel and a blanket...and a life-jacket. The town where Camp Barnabas is located was under a flood warning. I didn't know if that meant the roads to get there were impassable or if it was just that the lakes and rivers were high. The life-jacket was for Joshua...just in case we got into a situation. I meant to grab a bike helmet for him to wear, just in case, but I forgot.

I'm weird, I know.

About an hour into the drive, Holly said, "I keep looking for the dark storm clouds, but I just don't see any." It was a beautiful day. Beautiful sky...beautiful sunrise.

We arrived at Camp and found Joshua's cabin. All of the FRIENDS in his cabin were waiting on their parents outside. He broke into a HUGE grin when he saw Holly and I walk up. He didn't want to stay for the little assembly they have before everyone leaves. He said that he was just ready to be HOME. And, honestly, that beautiful sky we were talking about a few minutes ago? Well, it wasn't looking so beautiful anymore...so we bought some t-shirts and piled in the car and headed home. After one wrong turn, we were headed in the right direction.

The weather was awful. Seriously, it is amazing how drastically things can change in an hour. I was wanting to stop for gas and to get the kids a quick lunch...and then try to beat the storm. It just seemed like the more I hurried, the more behind I got. Took the wrong exit and had to get back on the Interstate again. Finally got the right exit...got lunch...got gas...got on the road.

The weather was so scary. We saw a couple of wrecks and the traffic was backed up and going slowly for MILES. Then, just when I thought I could make some time, this 18 wheeler wouldn't get out of the fast lane. And it seemed like there was always a car in the right lane that made it impossible for me to go around him. This went on forever. Seriously. MILES AND MILES. I started feeling like maybe I shouldn't pass this truck. Like, maybe God was protecting us.

We ran into terrible weather and the wind was so strong. I had heard something on the radio about straight-line winds and possible tornadoes. I wondered what straight-line winds looked like because I could barely keep my car on the road.

As God would have it, for many miles I followed behind that big truck...and not only that, but God placed another 18 wheeler on my right side...in the slow-lane. I was trapped.

Or, WAS I?

About an hour from home, the truck in front of me pulled over to the right lane, and we finally drove out of the scary stuff.

Jim called and talked to Holly about what all was going on. Holly told me, "I've been thinking...if we hadn't gotten held up...taking the wrong turn, in the wreck traffic, behind that truck...we might've been in the middle of the storms" that toppled trees and cars and tore the roofs off of buildings in towns just ahead of us on the road.

So thankful for God's protection every day...but it was truly evident on our trip today.

Joshua has a couple of stories from Camp this year, and I will try to post them at a later date because I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open tonight.

"He will cover you with His feathers..." Psalm 91:4