There's busy and there's busy

While at Deep Portage with Emma's 5th grade class we were constantly on the move. There was very little down time. We went from one activity right to the next.


We were busy!


Yet somehow it was very different from the business of everyday life that I am accustomed to.


It was a focused business. We had a specific task or lesson and that task or lesson was all we needed to be mindful of.

There were no Ipods! No televisions! No computers! No video games! No list of chores to be done! No errands to be run! There was none of the usual pull hither, thither and yon! There were few distractions!


There was a peace.

Admittedly there was plenty of telling kids they needed to pickup the pace to keep up with our leader. There was the occasional need to remind a child that they may not point their bow and arrow anywhere but at the target! And there was a lot of 5th grade not so quiet chatter, but still there was a peace.


There was time to wonder at God's creation!

There was time to ponder His intricate deigns!


Did you know that there are woodpeckers that feed on sap? I did not! It's the sap sucking woodpecker that makes the rows of little holes in a tree.

Did you know that an owl's eyes cannot move in their sockets and that they have more vertebrae in their neck than humans, which is why they can turn their heads so far? A good thing if one's eyes can't move!


Did you know that a beaver's teeth will grow continuously throughout it's life and that the large incisors have a special coating of enamel, which wears away more slowly than the rest of the tooth, giving the beaver a sharp biting edge? A good thing for taking down a tree!

Did you know that bats have a thumb and four fingers, just like people, that are covered by 2 thin layers of skin to create it's wing?


Do you know how many stars can be seen when one is out in the middle of the woods in northern Minnesota? The abundance of stars we saw at night were as impossible to count as the grains of sand on a beach. They brought tears to my eyes!


While on our many hikes at Deep Portage I had time to dwell on these and many other facts we learned. There was time to grasp some of the vastness of God's creativity!


No, I do not believe that anything on this planet came about by happenstance! All things were designed, created and given life by God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Away from the bustle of everyday life, the awesomeness of what God has made impacted me like never before. I was truly overwhelmed!


More than just a happy exhaustion I returned home with a heart full of praise for God so amazing!


Christine