Hope Creates Heat
It’s easy to have hope when things are relatively normal but once you find yourself in a helpless situation, hope is taken to a whole new level. I recently found myself in that situation and put many others close to me in that situation. Imagine being in the wilderness (I may have lost some of you already) in total darkness, no headlamp, no cellphone battery, no camping gear or survival tools whatsoever. Well, that was me 2 weeks ago.
I recently found trails in a mountain range in view from our house (a 45 minute ferry ride and 40 minutes of drive time) on an app called All Trails. These past four years in Japan, I have been so anxious about finding trails to run relatively close to home and was so excited to finally find some and could not wait to venture out. November 7th was the day and it did not disappoint. It was challenging and the view from multiple peaks was worth the effort.
This was a day run and so I packed light (windbreaker, fluids and a couple energy gel packs). About 6 hours in to my adventure about 4 miles (1.5 hours) out from where I left my car I was thinking a nice soak in a onsen (hot spring) and a big late lunch before returning home would seal the day a success. Once I reached the gorge where I had to cross for the final 2 miles back to the car, plans changed. The trail markings (pink ribbons tied to branches or tree trunks) were no where to be found. I spent a good 30 minutes looking up and down the gorge for a sign that would show me the way out of the mountains. Frustration was coming to a head at the point I ended up in the water waist deep to retrieve my trekking poles after tossing them to avoid sliding into the water. Attempting to trek in uncharted territory as daylight was coming to a close, I accepted what I did not want to accept and that was sleeping in the mountains overnight. So I backtracked out of the gorge up the trail I came from to find my sleeping spot for the night. Having gone the day without food and out of fluids, what was on my mind the most was avoiding hypothermia.
God – quench my thirst, satisfy my hunger, keep me warm and safe tonight.
Give Meg peace of mind to know that I am okay.
A simple prayer from Takakouma Mountain Range
It was 6:30pm as I settled in for the night anticipating sunrise at 6:30am. The waiting game began. What weighed on my mind most was the worry that Megumi and eventually everyone else would experience as they had not heard from me and did not know my exact location.
My strategy for keeping warm through the night worked. I found to sticks to create friction in hopes to start a fire. My effort was not enough to start a fire but the attempted action warmed up my body enough to relax and nap. That is where this thought came. Hope creates heat. I knew I would not be able to start a fire but the action was enough to warm me up to go back to sleep until I felt cold again and then I repeated the action until my body warmed up to catch another nap. A few times during the night I sounded SOS on my whistle attached to my running pack in case a rescue team may have been activated. Come morning I got up, stretched and rubbed my legs to warm up before having another go out of the mountains. My goal was to be back at my car by 8am so I could call Meg and let her know I was fine. That would give me approximately 2 hours to find my way out. As I began I could hear a helicopter above knowing it was searching for me. Due to the density of the forest I knew they would not be able to locate me. I debated backtracking or heading the direction of my car which would mean back down to the gorge where I was unsuccessful the previous day. I made my way to back down to the gorge and in less than 2 minutes I located a pink ribbon that led me to the completion of my journey home. After climbing out of the gorge and making my way back to level ground, I sprinted to my car. My car was the only car in the lot at 8:15am on a Monday morning except for 3 unattended police cars. After connecting my phone to the car charger and FaceTiming Meg to let her know I am safe, I blew my whistle to alert the officers that were searching for me at a nearby river. Relief and laughter ensued before we headed off to the station to do some paperwork and waited on Meg to arrive before making our way home.
My experience is nowhere near the stories in the Bible – Jonah, Daniel and of course Jesus but my faith grew in that 12 hours of complete darkness. There are so many take-aways from this adventure but a few touch points I would like to mention that I am still processing, connecting dots and digging deeper is:
- a heightened awareness of the value of each relationship I have
- a sense of urgency in the direction of where God continues to lead me
- a deeper sensitivity with those who feel helpless in life situations they battle.
Also some immediate fruit from this experience was a rekindling of a relationship that went silent for years.
A very close friend and mentor of mine said this: “God doesn’t waste anything.” That is so true. I look forward in witnessing how God will use this experience to continue to grow me, to reach others and bring glory to Him.
For anyone that is in a situation where they feel totally helpless, I just want you to know I recognize you and if I can be an ear, an encourager or a prayer warrior for you please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. - 1 Corinthians 1:3-4
May God bless you and keep you close always especially in times where you feel totally helpless.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.