An Aw(e)ful Camping Experience

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Laying there for about an hour, I thought I could maybe get bored given enough time. We already spotted the luster band of the Milky Way, located the Big Dipper, and had even named our own constellations like the Sideways M, the Arrow, and the Smiley Face. But that’s the past. Perhaps the time had come to head back into our tents.

Then a small streak raced across the dark sky. “DID YOU SEE THAT???” I yelled to my friends.

That’s all it took.

Soon, more streaks raced by, and each time we yelled louder than the last.

“WOAH IT’S RIGHT THERE” “IT WAS GOING LEFT” “THAT ONE WAS SO THICK AND BRIGHT” “I MISSED IT DANGIT” “OH THERE’S ANOTHER ONE” “WAHT I MISSED THAT ONE TOO”

At least couple hours past, and the meteorites appeared less frequently.

By then, the smiley face had shifted a little lower. Our arrow seemed slightly fatter and the sideways M looked more like a W. Also, the luster band of the Milky Way became more diagonal than vertical.

I could stay here all night. No way could I see this back home in my suburban neighborhood.

It’s funny what we’re willing to go through to experience awe. Let me break down how awful this weekend really was:

1. Our tents didn’t have the right tarps for them 2. It rained constantly 3. Our pillows got wet 4. The second night, I let a newcomer use my sleeping bag and mat 5. Without bedding, I slept in the car 6. The car was cold 7. I had no blanket 8. The newcomer slept better than I did

Yet if I were to go through all that again, I would because during this camping trip I witnessed awe.

Jealousy brewed inside me toward the old Bible characters, or really anyone who lived before the lightbulb. This is the sky they saw all the time. Every night the vast collection of stars shined on them; the Milky Way always carried that nightly glow. Every night they could shout in excitement over a shooting star and yet stand in awe once noticing the mosaic rotating around them. I almost felt ashamed for living in the suburbs.

The Bible says that “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hand”.

God could have left the sky dark and boring. But He didn’t. In other words, each star in the sky represents God saying to us, “I love you” and “I value you”. Sometimes, I have to get out of my own bubble to see it.