Vespers

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

Stillness. So hard to "slow down and be still". I was trying to do just this the other night when I remembered the song. It was a simple song, just the verse above sung three times but it always promoted stillness.
Every evening at the summer camp that I went to, after supper and activities, we'd have a time called Vespers. We'd line up, cabin by cabin. A bunch of girls who were sun burnt and full of mosquito bites, giggly and gangling, all from different homes being led by counsellors who weren't that much older than us. The air usually smelled of bug dope.
The camp chief would start the song and we'd join in. We'd sing it a couple of times then she'd start the walk down the path, through some bushes, over a big rock, then you'd see the clearing. The huge spruce tree was visible from the hall that we'd lined up at. The clearing was made of dirt and spruce needles that were sort of an orang-y brown colour. All the while singing the song until everyone was seated around the clearing. We'd sing some more songs then have a devotion then there was always an alter call.
The place always had a peace about it. The tree stood on a low cliff, maybe 5 or 6 feet and there was a river that flowed behind it. It wasn't silent, but there was a quietness to the place that soothed the scores of kids, teens, or adults that have sat in the tree's shade. So many decided to follow Jesus there. That's where I made my decision as a skinny eight year old whose parents had just divorced.
I find it interesting that God became my father the same year that my own father had left, but I digress.
With these images and memories over memories of this place in my mind, I still tried to be still. The next thing I knew, it was morning. I guess the thing I need to learn is how to get that stillness and not fall asleep but be able to listen.