It’s difficult to say exactly why time in the Frio Canyon is so significant. I’m not alone in this. When families experience a Laity Lodge Family Camp retreat, I hear them exclaim, “There is just something special about this place.” They can unwind, be together, play, enjoy the “thin space.” Ultimately though I believe Family Camp invites people to consider the question, “Where are you?”.
In Genesis 3, God asks the same question of Adam and Eve. Where are you?
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:8-9
Having done the one thing God instructed them not to do, Adam and Eve are distracted by the possibility of living life apart from their dependence on God. In response God pursues them in the garden, but they hide from God and he finds them, naked and afraid. So God asks, Where are you?
Our interactions with God still look like this today. God pursues us. We hide, until we find ourselves in a place that isn’t built for hiding. Such places help us slow down and notice that we have been hiding – from relationships, our family, ourselves, and even God. Without a place to hide, we have to consider the question for ourselves. Where are you?
We hope families at Laity Lodge Family Camp slow down and consider the question, “Where are you?” Maybe they even start to consider how to answer the question while they are in the Frio Canyon. Perhaps the answer will come gradually throughout the year in our communities. However we discover the answer, let us not forget that our Lord God pursues us, walking in the garden and asking continually “Where are you?”
Questions to consider: