Remembering

Author: Megan Licious | |

For some reason, one of the things that stands out most about my first year of college is how many Girls Camp flashbacks I had. There have been so many comments like, "Yes!! BYU! A super-extended EFY!" but, maybe because I never went to EFY, I had Girls Camp flashbacks instead.

It's always the little things--going down to the cafeteria in the early, crisp morning. Hearing a certain sound of the crunch of grass under foot. The posters and the unifying hall decorations. It's all very nostalgic in a strange but extremely pleasant way. It always catches me off guard.

I hate to use the phrase, "you don't know what you have until it's gone," but there are few things that are more applicable in this case. Whenever I recall it, I report that Girls Camp was a hard, often lonely experience for me. But if I actually think about it, all the experiences I remember are intimate experiences with my Savior.

I remember walking across the big field in the center of camp when I was a fourth year, with a prayer in my heart, telling my Father that I felt alone. It had been raining for days, but as I walked, the only person crossing the field in midday, the dark clouds split and a beautiful ray of sunshine spread across the field, filling it with light and filling my heart with the most comforting, loved feeling. It was so prominent. He needed me to know that I was not alone, that He was as all encompassing as that beautiful light, and his love as warm as the sunshine.

During my fifth year I was struggling with feelings toward a specific girl. I studied and prayed carefully to overcome, in that wonderful, quiet surrounding of camp. After days of mustering notes and smiles and all the kinds of little things that felt were all I could manage in my hurt, I was walking back alone to my cabin down a side path. As I walked I suddenly heard, out of the blue, and clear as day, the gentle but firm command: "Pray now." I stopped, looked upwards, and prayed: "Heavenly Father, please help me to forgive." Few prayers have had more influence on my life. Though simple, it is an experience I cherish in learning about the Holy Ghost and about forgiveness.

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for those years when I was able to accept the invitation to go up into the mountains, feeling alone, recognizing everyone but really knowing no one, but truly in His company. The quiet of nature is sacred and special to me because of those experiences. It's no wonder that Moses and Abraham, Joseph, and even the Savior Himself took their quiet supplication to the Lord in the solitude of nature.

I can't wait for my daughters to go.