Do You Hear Thunder?

I have chosen to interrupt my comments on technology in this generation to mention something interesting from church last night.

Our church is currently involved in a 12 month program to strengthen marriages and families. Author and speaker Dr. Gary Smalley is part of the team pioneering this program. Last night, Gary spoke at the service. He related the following:

There was a time, years ago, when he was researching family dynamics. He would observe families that seemed to have a particularly strong bond and ask to interview them. The hope was that he could identify some common denominator among strongly united families that could be passed on to others as a method or component to strengthen any family. To his surprise, he got the exact same answer from every family that he interviewed. Gary thought the key might be praying together or eating meals together or worshipping together. Nope. The answer every family gave him was, “camping”.

Gary and his family decided, since this was something they had never done, they needed to give it a try. Up till this point, their concept of camping was staying at a Holiday Inn without a pool. He proceeded to tell the detailed story of a miserable first-time family camping experience. Severe weather, sand everywhere, sand in their bed, sand in their food, etc. In conclusion, he arrived at the definition of camping as scheduled disaster.

True camping is, for some, the deliberate abandonment of comfort. I prefer to think of the experience as an exchange rather than deprivation. Conveniences should be left behind, but you gain the opportunity to challenge your wit and resolve. I think the biggest challenge is to react to your environment, rather than finding ways to isolate yourself from it. This is all part of the reason I enjoy travelling by motorcycle. The experience of travelling by auto is moving along in an isolated, temperature controlled bubble. On a motorcycle, you are part of the environment you are passing through. There is an exchange of comfort, to be sure. But, I digress… back to camping.

I guess this post is about technology, in a way. When you go camping, especially backpacking, you can’t rely on electronic technology for communication, entertainment or even relaxation. As families go, the question becomes, “Can I relate to my children without a TV or a computer in the room?” Am I able to relax without sitting in front of the TV? And, of course, the big one, “How do I deal with being uncomfortable?”

Some of the most miserable times I’ve experienced have been while camping. But, I would never want to lose the incredible times I’ve had while camping with family and friends or the times I’ve had backpacking with my sons.

I suppose camping isn’t for everyone. I only hope that for those who never find a way to enjoy it, they can find something else to challenge them…something they can do with others that pushes them outside of their comfort zone and can create bonds that last a lifetime.