No Atheists in Foxholes...

On the weekend, I went camping with my 3 year old son, his best mate, and his best mate's dad. It was a heart warming experience (watching our little ones play together, collect fire wood, chase cows and eat toasted marshmellows etc) even though it was freezing everywhere else. We put on the camp fire at 2:30pm rather than at 6pm as we had originally planned, because our 3 layers of clothing were not enough to keep out the cold, even at that time of day.

My grown up companion and I got talking around that campfire (because that is what camp fires are for [as well as for toasting marshmellows]) about life, the universe and everything. At one point he said that he didn't really believe in God, but that he did this one time when his dog went missing. In his panic, he cried out to God to help him to find his canine friend and to make sure that he was safe. We both smiled at this, knowing the truth of the saying, that "there are no atheists in fox holes"; that when the trouble starts, the God we might not normally have too much time for in our day-to-day life, suddenly becomes our primary source of help and hope in times of trouble and helplessness.

The problem of course is: Where does God go in the times between our crises What does he do with himself? Does he slip back into non-existence or does he inconveniently persist in being real? Maybe these crisis calls are good reminders to us that God might just actually be there - all the time. And he might actually want more from us than to be the 000 calll receiver... Not that he minds that part. The Bible says in Psalm 50:15, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you..."

Anyway, here is a cool music video that my friend Francis sent to me, called, "Laughing with God"... I hope you enjoy it.



Shalom...