Augustine and Lake Superior

GREAT art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite. 1 And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation; man, that bears about him his mortality, the witness of his sin, the witness that Thou resistest the proud: 2 yet would man praise Thee; he, but a particle of Thy creation. Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee. Grant me, Lord, to know and understand which is first, to call on Thee or to praise Thee? and, again, to know Thee or to call on Thee? for who can call on Thee, not knowing Thee? for he that knoweth Thee not, may call on Thee as other than Thou art. Or, is it rather, that we call on Thee that we may know Thee? but how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe without a preacher? 3 and they that seek the Lord shall praise Him: 4 for they that seek shall find Him, 5 and they that find shall praise Him. I will seek Thee, Lord, by calling on Thee, and will call on Thee; believing in Thee; for to us hast Thou been preached. My faith, Lord, shall call on Thee, which Thou hast given me, wherewith Thou hast inspired me, through the Incarnation of Thy Son, through the ministry of the Preacher.--Augustine

Overwhelming.

It is a very little known and often disputed fact that the water of Lake Superior is 100% drinkable. No filtering, boiling, or iodine needed here. Maybe a short walk up and down the shore to check for animal remains, but if the beach is clean you are generally good to go. So sworn by every Honeyrock High Road Leader (just noticed that now it's called Wheaton "Passage"-how lame is that?) but a few short years ago it was called Freshman High Road, an 18 day wilderness trip that Wheaton freshmen tackle together in the weeks before starting college. I did the program as a freshman, then came back to train as a leader the summer after my sophomore year, and most recently co-led a trip in the late summer of 2003.

High Road or "Passage" is designed like Outward Bound, generally trading the majestic O.B. campuses of Alaska/Patagonia/Yosemite for the majestic swamps of Wisconsin and labyrinth logger trails of Northern Michigan. The benefit of this is that High Road participants become much better experts at navigation, since most of the scenery looks the same or the views are so blocked by the thick undergrowth of previously logged forests that there is no scenery at all. High Road students have to search for the beauty with compasses and outdated maps.

My dear Friend and blog cohort MM recently posted this beautiful reflection on Monica, Mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, who is a great example to us all. The post brought back memories of the first time I read Augustine's Confessions, which was while I was co-leading an aforementioned Freshman High Road Trip. It was during solo--three days during which the students are situated in isolation on the shores of Lake Superior with supervisory checks by the leaders twice daily and instructions to drink lots of water. The students use the time for fasting and praying and reflecting on the recent journey. And so do the leaders--except that they cannot fast in case of emergency. So for three days in the summer of 2003 I lived on a rock on the shore of Lake Superior and read Augustine's Confessions. Augustine was a man overwhelmed by grace. His words are so heavy with it--grace and gratitude. There is such a reaching in his texts, a striving forward and a reaching Heavenward--a reaching to find words to explain the overwhelming love of God.

Ken Kalisch, the reknown and well-loved inventor of High Road, loves to tell stories. And paint metaphors. One of my favorites includes a group of lost students who had run out of food, who prayed and foraged, and in answer to prayer found a deer, dead but still warm, a giant edible mushroom, and a field of raspberries. Overwhelmingly miraculous.

And my favorite metaphor: you can always bring back a canteen of Lake Superior's Water to share with someone who couldn't be there, but you can never, ever begin to explain to them the vast glories of the Great Lake itself. And it is the same with having experienced the overwhelming vastness of God's love. You can share it with others in small sips, but they must themselves experience the Deep Mystery.

Of course, Lake Superior probably feels more dramatic to High Road students having walked there, as opposed to driving there in a car, High Road students having had to boil and drink smoky camp fire water and then suddenly find themselves able to drink as much perfectly fresh water as they please, swim in it, bathe in it, sleep to its songs and enjoy it--it is a bit overwhelming.

I'm starting to ramble, but I guess I just enjoyed remembering my first experience with Augustine's Confessions, and my last experience with Lake Superior, and how overwhelming is the love of our God, and how, when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by Him nothing else should overwhelm us.

And I think Augustine would like Lake Superior too.