Every year for a week towards the end of the summer I go to the mountains to escape the realities of the world. I stay in a cabin with seven other girls and in a camp with one hundred and twenty other teenagers. We all are escaping the pressures of the world, home, and society. Here decisions can be made clearly and friendships can be born without reservations.
One night during the week I take a beaten path up the mountain. At this time only the light of the moon and the stars guides me. Other girls go, but to me they are invisible, I only hear the rustle of the wind in the trees and see the outline of the path my feet need to stay on. The path ends and I come to a clearing, others have arrived and in the background a guitar is being strummed slowly. Still in this place, in this moment, nothing can penetrate this fortress: all is invisible. Set before me as I lay my head on the ground, I see the splendor of my King. The sky is blanketed with millions of little stars all shining for Him. I watch the stars glisten against the black canvas and am overcome by this mighty work. I am humbled by the magnificent display set before me, I feel miniscule and unneeded. But I see a hand reaching for me, and I know that I am not alone and I am loved and needed and am as important as anyone of those stars. Suddenly all fears and uncertainties that I may have had have disappeared, and I am safe. Although bears and bugs are surrounding me and I am without modern technologies, I am safe. Under this casing of stars, I am safe. I am able to think clearly for the first time in my life, yet I do not want to, I want to stare at the canvas that has been so delicately created for His glory.