My husband and I are leading a growth group at our church and we are studying John Eldredge’s amazing book, The Sacred Romance. This is not a book on marriage as it’s title suggests, instead it is a book on “drawing closer to the heart of God”. It’s a book about discovering who and what you were made for. And the sacred romance is about the love God has for you.
We’re studying the second chapter and one of the assignments in the workbook is to write about one of your best memories from childhood, so I decided to share it with all of you.
Every summer at least from first grade on, my parents made the sacrifice of sending both my sister and I away to summer camp for a week with the Camp Fire Girls. By sacrifice, I mean it couldn’t have been cheap. We went to Camp Sealth on Vashon Island in the middle of Puget Sound and we had to ride a boat to get there. This is the place where I first remember hearing a call to a grand adventure.
I remember standing on the dock with suitcase and sleeping bag nearby. The air was salty and warm and the sun was out. I’d give Mom and Dad a hug and board the ship for the 45 min ride to the camp. The first time I went, I probably cried the whole way, but every year thereafter, it was like I was sailing off on my own adventure. As we docked at the camp and hefted our stuff to our cabins, the smell of Douglas fir and the crunch of the needles under foot accompanied us. My first cabin was on Blueberry Hill.
Camp Sealth was a magical place. Each year, I learned a different adventuring skill. One year it was how to ride horses, another was a week-long canoe trip, and another where I learned archery. I loved being under the canopy of trees where sunlight would reach down in shafts to kiss the ground, where the carpet I walked on was fir needles and where at night we sang songs about adventures we would have.
The roundhouse was our dining hall and it was the first place I learned that there are fairies on the edge of the table, so don’t squish them with your elbows. That Mr. Pepper was married to Mrs. Salt and so we always passed them together. I remember it’s warm, varnished cedar interior.
After dinner we would gather near the shore for campfire. One of my favorite songs was “Barges” and I sang it over and over again in my childhood, always at night and always with a longing for the lapping of waves on my barge as I went sailing along.
Barges, I would like to go with you, I would like to sail the ocean blue. Barges, are there treasures in your hold, Do you fight with pirates, brave and bold?
The Ship – The name was a promise!
Camp Sealth – View from the water
One of the Blueberry Hill cabins – nestled up under the trees.
The Roundhouse
The Campfire Setting
Where were you when you first remember hearing a call to a grand adventure?
P.S. – Many thanks to my parents for all the wonderful memories!! I love you!
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