The Hand of God

August 2nd , 2005 a boy, an eagle scout, was lying in his bunk at camp Steiner when a bolt of lightning came out of the clouds and struck a tree next to the cabin. The charge traveled down the tree and jumped through a nail into the cabin right where his bunk was. That boy was struck along with three others nearby. Walking down the trail pass the cabin at the time was a doctor from the University of Utah burn unit. Within thirty seconds of the strike CPR was being administered. Helicopters came. Ambulances were called. But the boy died.

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The staff of the camp was welded together as they reacted to the emergency. It was the 75th anniversary of the camp and the first time in all those years that a boy was killed by lightning. Steiner is in the tops of the Unita Mountains where summer lightning storms can be a daily event. The boy was the cream of the crop, a cherished eagle. Everything that could be done in such an event was done and at much faster speed than anyone could hope. But he still died.

I read about it sitting in a hotel in Albuquerque New Mexico. I had refrained from signing up for camp that year because I traveled to Virginia to staff the National Jamboree. I was on my way back from one of the greatest adventures of my youth. My biggest regret about that trip was that I wasn’t there. I met and worked with many of the staff that were involved up there. I sorrowed with them. And I became convinced by them that everyone was there that week for a reason. The accident was unavoidable. No one could predict it or prevent it. I became convinced that nothing manifests the will of God so clearly as a bolt of lightning.

Years later another boy named David was killed at Camp Scofield some miles south of Steiner. The same day, only an hour apart, another boy drowned at Bear Lake Aquatics base. It was a tragic day for all scouts. A young girl was working at Scofield that summer. She had befriended the younger scout and had told him to seek shelter when the storm came in. A few minutes later the lightning had ended his life.

Last week I worked with that girl at a Timberline course at Camp Tifie. She had remained active in scouting and loved the program. But she has not yet gotten over lightning. For our final day at camp we were to divide into three groups for a closing reflection and dedication ceremony. As each patrol wandered off into the woods for their meetings the storm hit the mountain with a fury and thunder that shook fear into the hearts of our young staffers. They panicked and called all the patrols back into a pavilion that used tarps as walls. The storm roared and we adapted. Together in a shaken clump of wet scouts and staff we went around the circle and each person shared a dedication to someone who had changed their life. Many bore testimony of scouting or faith. Several indicated that the spirit of that young David was with us. Within 45 minutes the storm was quiet but we remained together, 27 souls sharing gratitude for the past and hope for the future, building testimony and conviction in the hearts of young people. I am convinced that nothing manifests the will of God as clearly or absolutely as does a bolt of lightning.

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But is lightning the only form that God uses to influence the world? No. I believe that God controls the forces of life and death, even when we assume we have control. Last night a boy died at that same Camp Tifie when he was run over by a truck. As I mourn with the scouts once again and must reflect; we are all nestled in the hand of God. He is infinitely compassionate as he chooses when we depart from this life. There is a pattern and a plan though we may not always see it through the smoke of a bolt of lightning.

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One thought on “The Hand of God

  1. Kayla

    Amen.

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