“We’re going on a camping trip for our vacation this summer,” my dad announced to us at our dinner table one night. “We’ve decided to go with Uncle Pete’s family to a park along the north shore of Lake Superior.”
Oh, I couldn’t wait! I love to go camping, especially somewhere that we’ve never been before and especially with Marie and her family. Our dads and moms had lots of planning and packing to do to get ready. Finally the day came to start our vacation and leave for northeastern Minnesota. We were going to have so much fun!
One sunny day while we were there, we all decided to take a hike along the shore of Lake Superior. Someone had told us about a very pretty spot on the beach. It was perfect. We had the whole area to ourselves.
It wasn’t hard to find lots of fun things to do there. The beach was full of pretty stones to collect. We each tried to see who could build the tallest stone tower. I laid down and let the others cover me with small stones and sand till everything but my head was completely buried.
When we were ready for something different, we found a narrow, steep trail going up from our beach to the top of a nearby cliff. Up there we discovered a path which led out to a tiny point of land sticking out into the lake. From there we got a wonderful view of miles of shoreline. Below us (although we could only see it once we were back down on the beach) was an arch cut out of rock by the water.
On a camping trip you have lots of picnics. Usually they are at the picnic table at our campsite, but this day we ate our picnic lunch right on the beach. After lunch, Marie and I and our brothers went swimming. Now Lake Superior is so far north that the water stays pretty cold even in the summer, so we didn’t stay in very long. But still it was fun.
Well, when you’re young like me and having lots of fun, the time to leave comes just too quickly. That’s how it was that day. Late in the afternoon, Uncle Pete said he would take Marie and me on one last hike that would end up at the parking lot where we had left our cars. The others would take a shorter path and wait for us there.
The first part of the hike took us along the beach near our special spot. We had fun jumping from one big rock to another! Then, before I knew what had happened, Uncle Pete and Marie weren’t there. I looked all around in every direction, but they were gone. Where were they? How could I find them? I started back the way we had come from, but they were nowhere in sight. In fact, there was no one around anywhere. I was stranded on that beach . . . alone.
What would you do if it were you? Do you think that you could have found your own way back to your dad and mom? I was so scared that I didn’t know which way to go. All I could do was stand right where I was and . . . cry. The more I thought about how lonely and lost I was, the louder I cried.
This wasn’t the first time that I had felt what it was to be lost. Several years before, as an even younger girl, my dad and mom had shown me from the Bible that I was a lost sinner. I had learned a Bible verse for Sunday school that said, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). But they had also taught me that the Lord Jesus came into this world looking for sinners so that He could rescue them from being lost and save them forever. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)).
In my heart I had told the Lord Jesus that I was naughty - that I was lost and not able to go to heaven. I asked Him to save me from my sins, and He did! Another verse I memorized says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son [cleanses] us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). And another one says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)). Oh, it’s wonderful to be saved - to have the Lord Jesus as my Friend who will never leave me.
But down there on the beach I was so scared and upset that I forgot that I was not really alone. I forgot that the Lord Jesus, my Saviour and my Friend, was right there with me and that He was taking care of me right then, even though I felt very alone. So I just kept crying.
When Uncle Pete and Marie got back to the parking lot, my dad asked, “Where’s Ruthie?”
Uncle Pete said, “We don’t know. We thought she was with us, but then once along the path when we looked back, we couldn’t see her anywhere.”
Do you think my dad just stood there to wait and see if I would show up? No, he and Uncle Pete took off running as fast as they could back down the path to the beach. Long before they got there, my dad’s sharp ears heard my crying. That helped him know which way to go to find me. Then he picked me up and hugged me tightly to comfort my scared, lonely heart. He carried me all the way back to where the others were waiting in the parking lot.
That’s just like the Lord Jesus. He has been looking for us to be saved even before we knew that we were lost. Whenever we cry out to Him, He comes running to save us. And He will carry us safely through this world till we get to heaven to live with Him forever.
ML-11/11/2001