Highland Retreat

Written August 2011

Tab D, open

Highland_Retreat

every other year for Family Week
we’d drive out to Highland Retreat
to hike along the trails or play in the creek,
catch crayfish and boil’em in a coffee can
+++ who knew that Jesus lived in the woods?
+++ out among the pines & firs, memorize a Bible verse,
+++ we’d do arts-&-crafts and nature walks,
+++ we’d listen to the campfire talks,
+++ paint a river rock & call it a paperweight
+++ (look, Mom, it’s a paperweight!.)

didn’t have to TRAVEL far, we were there in no time
out by Bergton, close to the line,
where we shared a little cabin that suited us fine,
we were mostly outdoors anyway,
+++ back when Jesus lived in the woods,
+++ among the maples and the oaks,
+++ we knew he wasn’t fond of dirty jokes,
+++ we played foursquare, “TV tag” and tetherball,
+++ we sang the sacred and the silly songs,
+++ cooked our breakfast on a griddle on the fire we built,
+++ (hey, Mom, check out the fire we built!..)
+++++ you can have your Brethren Woods or your Bethany Birches,
+++++ all the other camps from all the other churches,
+++++ Highland was the best, because it was the closest to us,
+++++ on the map and in our memory..

and in the afternoon we would jump in the pool,
or RELAX by the side trying hard to be cool,
when our hormones hit the fan, we knew Jesus preferred
that the girls wear one-piece bathing suits,
+++ maybe the Lord was on VACATION just like us,
+++ to take a break from all the prayers & such,
+++ in a hammock or a paddleboat,
+++ we had FUN canoeing on the lake,
+++ wearing orange life jackets to be safe,
+++ tell me who’s your favorite counselor? (let’s do sleep-away next year),
+++ skip a stone and count the bounces (1, 2, 3..)
+++ paint a river rock and now it’s my pet rock, Steve
+++ (look, Mom, it’s a SOUVENIR!..)

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