The second day of Nature Camp, Haley was determined that she would not trip over her own feet when she got on the bus and that she would not end up wearing the lunches of the children!
When the bus arrived, Haley carefully climbed the steps of the bus without falling and carefully greeted the children. The children were watching her closely because they had enjoyed watching her be clumsy on the first day of camp. Haley explained that they were going to take a hike through the forest, and she was going to take them to a patch of wild raspberries that should be ready for picking. Haley explained to the kids that the best way to stay safe in the forest is to stay on the trail. If a person goes off the trail, then they will get scratched by some of the plants that have thorns and prickers, and they will stir up the mosquitoes. Also, some plants such as poison ivy can give a person a bad, itchy, rash if they rub against the plant.
Haley led the way down the trail, and she was being very careful! It was a beautiful day to be hiking on a trail, and the kids enjoyed the quietness and the beauty of the forest. They saw squirrels, birds, and chipmunks while they were walking, but they did not see any deer because a group of kids makes too much noise as they walk through a forest, and the deer stayed hidden. After awhile the kids started singing as they walked and then skipping and running! Haley was still leading the way, and she yelled, “After we go around that curve in the trail, we will jump across a small creek, and then we will almost be there!”
Haley ran around the curve in the trail at full speed, and then it happened! She fell into a lake! Haley bobbed up to the surface of the lake and yelled, “This lake was not here last week when I came down this trail! What is going on here?” Then she saw something new! Where the creek used to be, there was a were logs and sticks carefully laid across the creek and the gaps between the sticks and logs were filled with mud and leaves. It was a beaver dam! Beavers need a pond so that they can build their houses and raise their families. God gave beavers the knowledge and ability to build dams across creeks and small rivers so that they can make a pond or small lake. Beavers are a medium-sized water animal with two very strong front teeth and a large flat tail. They use their sharp front teeth to gnaw down small trees and bushes so that they can make the dam across the creek, and they use their large flat tail to slap the water to signal that danger is near!
Beavers usually sleep during the day, but all the noise Haley was making woke up one of the beavers. Suddenly Haley saw an angry beaver coming into the lake, the beaver thought that Haley was a dangerous monster, so he slapped his tail on the water to send the danger signal to the other beavers! The kids on the bank saw the beaver and heard his tail slap the water! The sound of his tail hitting the water sounded like gun shots! The kids screamed and ran up the trail to a safe distance!
Haley screamed loudly and kept screaming because that beaver was coming towards her! She swam away from the beaver toward the middle of the pond! Suddenly Haley got caught in the current in the middle of the pond and was being taking to the beaver dam! Haley screamed even louder and the kids on the bank laughed harder! Haley just had enough time to get her feet in front of her so that she did not smash her face against the beaver dam! Her feet hit the beaver dam with a loud thud, and the sound of wood cracking! The current was pushing Haley against the dam, and she heard more sounds of wood cracking, and suddenly the center portion of the beaver dam broke! Water poured through the opening in the center of the beaver dam, and the water took Haley through the opening too! Haley bounced down to the creek bed below the beaver dam and got rolled over and over by the force of the water! Fortunately, the creek bed was sandy with no rocks, so Haley was not injured! Haley stopped rolling over and over, and she tried to stand up, but the force of the water knocked her down again! The kids thought that this was the funniest thing they had ever seen!
Finally, Haley got out of the creek and climbed back onto the trail. She was soaked with water and covered with sand and mud! Haley began slowly walking back to the farm, and the kids followed her. There would be no berry picking this day!
When they finally got back to the farm, they saw that Joe had a campfire going, and their lunches were ready to be eaten. The kids were so excited and so eager to tell Joe about the adventure at the beaver pond that he could not get them to settle down and eat for about 20 minutes! While the kids were talking, Haley went into the house, took a shower, and changed clothes, then she went back to the campfire and had her lunch.
After they were all done eating, Joe told the kids that they could learn a lot from their adventure at the beaver pond! Joe said that God had made beavers with the natural ability to make dams so that they could safely raise their families. All beavers make dams, and they all make them the same way! God designed them do to this.
In the same way, God designed each of us to serve Him. God has put in each of us the special ability to do certain things well. But we are very different from beavers; all beavers act the same and do the same things, but God made each person different. Your special abilities are not the same as the special abilities of the person sitting next to you!
In the Bible in Romans 12:6-11 it says:
In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Beavers work hard at building a dam, and they keep working until the job is done. After that they continually look for weak spot and make repairs. In the same way, we need to work hard at the jobs that God has given us. When we use the gifts and abilities that God has given us to serve Him, He will reward us!
In the Bible in Colossians 3:23-24 it says:
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.
Haley had been listening to Joe very carefully, and now she was almost crying! She said, “The beavers did such good work, using the abilities that God has given to them, but I ruined it! I destroyed the beaver dam!”
Joe said, “The same type of thing happens many times when we are trying to serve God! Problems come along and destroy what we are trying to do for God, and sometimes other people destroy what we are trying to do for God. When we are serving God, we should not get discouraged and give up just because we feel like our work is destroyed or useless. The beavers will not give up just because you destroyed their dam, if you go back out there in a day or two, I think you will be surprised at what you see!”
In the Bible in Galatians 6:9-10 it says:
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith.
Use the special abilities and talents that God has given you, do not get discouraged or give up!