A CAMP CLIMB TO REMEMBER

BY LAUREN SANFORD

During the summer of 2006, at a Christian Science summer camp I go to, I went on a three-day backpacking trip with a group. My first thought was that it was going to be an amazing experience. But on the first day of the trip, when I put my backpack on, I thought they must be joking to have us all carry such heavy loads for three days. Ridiculous! Then the counselors explained why we were carrying frame packs—we needed to take all our cooking and camping supplies with us since we wouldn't always have a base camp. But I was still feeling frustrated. How could I possibly do this?

We were hiking through the woods, about halfway to our campsite that first night, and I was thinking a lot of defeating thoughts like, "You're not strong enough." So I started to pray. One of the most basic ideas I've learned in the Christian Science Sunday School, yet one of the most useful, is to put my trust in God if I need help. So I did.

I also remembered being a really little kid in Sunday School and being taught a helpful way to think about the word fear—"False Evidence Appearing Real." I prayed with those two simple ideas, and they kept me going through the day. All of the leaders who were hiking with us were amazing at keeping us in line with spiritual thoughts. They supported us with encouraging comments. As we started approaching our site for that night, I was very surprised that since the time I'd changed my thinking, the hike had gone by super fast!

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A CAMP CLIMB TO REMEMBER

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