Article January 2, 2012 Issue

My treehouse healing

By John Monday

This summer I spent several weeks at a camp for Christian Scientists. I was part of a cool program where we get to do things like learning how to build a fire and cook meals over it in the outdoors; lashing sticks and logs together to make lean-tos, guard towers, and other structures; and working with ropes, pulleys, knives, and outdoor tools. The program is a lot of fun, and the staff always makes sure everyone stays safe!

On Monday of the second week of camp, I was working with one of the counselors on a pulley in the treehouse. I had climbed up into the treehouse and was standing on the platform above the ladder untying knots from two ropes. My counselor was helping me from the ground, untying knots from the other ends of the ropes. I leaned forward over the railing to grab the next knot, and when I stepped back, I suddenly found myself falling into the ladder hole. I hit my head on the edge of the ladder opening, and several more times on the ladder, as I fell down the hole onto the wooden platform twelve feet below.

When I hit the ground, I immediately thought about how my peers were supporting me and how I couldn’t fall out of God’s care. The counselors immediately made sure I was OK, and helped me sit up. I’ve been a Christian Scientist my whole life, so I knew I could trust prayer. Right there, I stood my ground praying and knowing that God plans every day perfectly, and that He was with me and has always been with me. My leg hurt and my face was bruised—and even though I cried, my prayers helped me feel calm inside.