Confessions of a kids camp counselor: Degrees of deviation
“Easy set up” it stated in large letters on the box.
Just three easy steps: 1. Unfold, 2. Construct, 3. Fill with water.
More than a week later, and we just tore down the $300 Wal-Mart metal-framed swimming pool for the third time because of one additional step that wasn’t so easily noticeable on the Coleman packaging: It must be installed on a level surface.
We found a piece of ground directly behind the house that seemed pretty flat to the naked eye and immediately set up the pool out of the box … only to realize after the fact just how un-straight the ground really was.
Using a carpenter’s level, there was only about a centimeter or two of downward slope where the pool was to start. However, re-assessing the lack of level-ness over the 16-foot diameter of where the round pool would sit, that centimeter of slope turned into nearly a foot drop-off in descent. That is more than enough deviation to cause a 5,000-gallon catastrophe if left uncorrected.
It reminded me of an orienteering class we tackled as Scouts at summer camp one year. Before GPS and geocaching, we navigated the back country with clear plastic compasses, coordinates and a map.
One class in particular had us following a variety of directions based on degrees off of magnetic North. We’d set the compass dial to the degrees listed on our instruction sheet and set off on the number of paces to our next destination.
Except, on one leg of the journey, we never made it to the large oak tree marked with blue spray paint. It turns out that we were one tiny click of the compass off on our bearings. Just one degree.
With each step, we veered ever so slightly off course. One hundred and fifty yards later, we were looking for blue paint in a stand of overgrown hemlocks a large distance off course.
Much more recently, I found myself on a similar trek through the woods with five rambunctious young men armed with bright yellow GPS units in place of the archaic compasses I had grown to admire and trust. We were searching for various waypoints that would match up with photos on a clue sheet.
GPS – or Global Positioning System – uses a series of unseen overhead satellites to triangulate where you are based on latitude and longitude-based coordinates. It is basically old-school orienteering on battery-powered steroids.
Except, despite all the technological advances from compasses to hand-held GPS units, there is still a similar degree of uncertainty. Weather plays a part. So does the remaining battery life of the units in use. And even when everything is working properly, the triangulation process still lands you in a position within 33 feet or so from your desired destination.
So as we neared – according to our GPS units – a certain waypoint, the boys would fan out looking through the brush for an item that matched a picture from our sheet of clues. As precise as the process was, there was still a certain amount of uncertainty.
And getting to those fairly general waypoints required plenty of checking – and rechecking – the GPS units with each step. The arrow of direction would change at times. So would the remaining distance to our destination. If that distance went up, we needed to change course to get back on track.
How does this all apply spiritually?
I personally feel Satan does his most dangerous work in inches – not miles.
When it comes to our daily walk, being off just a degree may not seem like much at the time, but before long, we can find ourselves much farther from the Truth than we ever imagined.
When it comes to navigating via compass, GPS – or even a carpenter’s level – the key to staying on track is to make time to check – and recheck – your bearings. How many degrees off magnetic North have we strayed and what will it take to get back?
On our spiritual walk, God provides something much more powerful than a compass or shiny GPS unit. He gives us His Word to guide us along the way, and it is our job to regularly read the Bible and reassess our bearings to see how many degrees off “magnetic North” we’ve deviated over the course of a day, week, month or year. And then, it is up to us to take the required steps to get back on track.
If we don’t make the time to check bearings and re-position ourselves on a regular basis, the ramifications can be so much more devastating than a longer-than-expected hike in the woods or a collapsed swimming pool.
Check out each part of the “Confessions of a kids camp counselor” series by clicking below. More posts will be on the way soon: