Guess Where, Revealed
Since I seem to have stumped most of you into silence as to my current whereabouts, let me tell you.
I'm at Arlington Beach Camp & Conference Centre, near Cymric, SK, about 150 km north of Regina.
This camp is an important part of my family history. I started here as two halves; in other words, my parents fell in love and were married here. They currently live year-round at the camp, having built their dream home on the shore of Last Mountain Lake.
This camp is a bulwark of Free Methodism, so as a former Free Methodist I confess a bit of uncomfortability in these surroundings. The camp's speaker this year has made a comment that all Truth is God's Truth, so I will seek whatever Truth the Lord has for me here. I am also looking forward to showing him what Truth can be found in Catholicism. That should be fun.
That magnificent church pictured below is St. Peter's Cathedral in Muenster, SK, about another 150 km north of this location. It's across the road from St. Peter's Abbey, the Benedictine monastery I've visited a few times in my life. On this latest trip I picked up a few more St. Benedict Medals and some crucifixes.
Back to Arlington: it's so hard for me to be really authentic here, as a large component of my identity is my Catholic beliefs, and I feel I cannot fully share those with this group. I look forward to any opportunity to do so, but those sorts of opportunities are quite rare in this setting.
So while I try to commune authentically with these fellow Christians, the task is doubly difficult. There is Truth to be found here in the meditations on Scripture, in the music, in the fellowship, but it feels so shallow to me. It's like I'm swimming in the deep, ancient waters of the revelation of God, but everybody else is content merely to doff their socks and wade by the shore. There's so much more to the Truth my friends and family here love so dearly, and I find it hard not to shout it from the rooftops!
Lord, help me to hear your voice here, and to listen to your promptings.
I just want to through a question out there - do you think their faith is shallow because that's what the Methodist faith is or because they have chosen to make their own personal faith shallow? Part of the reason I say this is because I used to think the Catholic faith was shallow and was just full of "rituals" but there was no relationship with God. Luckily I met some great Catholics in university (which caused me to meet more) and changed my opinion of the Catholic faith. Another reason I threw the question out is that I know there are Mennonites out their who do the "Sunday Christian" thing but that doesn't mean that's how the rest of us treat our faith. I have come to the opinion that no "denomination" has it all right and there's always something we can learn from each other as long as you believe in the fundamental truths. And hopefully you will get opportunities to talk about your Catholic faith and what it means to you as I know I have learnt things from the Catholic faith. On a lighter note, part of me is jealous cause I'd love to be out at camp, canoeing in the lake...
ReplyDeleteAudrey, thanks for your question. I'll answer this as honestly as I can, so pardon any blunt statements as I'm in a bit of a rush right now.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I find this type of experience hard to relate to is that I've discovered a deeper faith. The people around me aren't shallow per se, and neither is their individual faith. It's like I'm swimming in the lake, 40 feet from shore, but everybody else is content to wade in water that barely covers their ankles, and they are trying to tell me, "Now this is swimming!"
Not that I feel I'm holier or wiser than these folks here; there are many who have much to teach me, but I have a hard time willing myself to learn from those who don't see the fullness of revelation that I've been shown.
I'll try to find time to elaborate on this some more in the next few days. For now, please pray for me, that I'll be able to respond to what God wants me to find here.