On July 4 I picked up our grandson Max at Deerfoot Lodge in the Adirondacks of upstate NY. He had just finished 2 wonderful weeks – and his third summer at Deerfoot. I watched him give final “good-byes” to several counselors and cabin mates. He wanted pictures with several of them—and also a picture with me with the Dug Mountains and Lake Whitaker in the background. Since this has become a special place for both of us, we were more than a little sad driving out the dirt road to the main highway. We never like leaving Deerfoot! At least we had until Tuesday morning to spend together before he flew back to Denver and I flew back to St Paul.

It warmed my heart to hear Max talk about the things that God was teaching him. He rehearsed the lessons of the past 3 summers, most tied into life experiences and his family. “Each summer God has taught me something I didn’t know I would need in the year ahead” he told me. Wow! This must be what Jesus means by childlike faith. Too often my faith seems childish instead of child-like. Too often my faith is an expression of what I want more than an expression of what I should become or a statement of trust that God knows what I will need in the months ahead.

In addition to good conversations, we were blessed by great scenery as we climbed Cascade and Porter mountains, two of the 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks. Mount Marcy (New York’s highest peak), the Great Range, the McIntyre Range, Whiteface—all were clearly visible and glorious. We also explored Ausable Chasm and the High Gorge on the west fork of the Ausable River. It was a great time—grandson and grandfather—good friends who are 50 years apart in age.