To build a great campfire

We spent Friday evening and all day Saturday at a family retreat with our church. It was a great time with even greater friends. 

There were long walks with good friends, budding trees, babbling springs, sunlight sparkling on the water like diamonds, and campfires, three of them. 

During the second campfire, one friend and I were joking how we should write a book together about campfires. She would write the technical part of the book on how to build a great campfire, and I would write the color commentary about the philosophical value of the fire. 

Her son chipped in to say that the first thing you need for a great campfire is good wood. To which another friend said, no the first thing you need is good friends. That’s what makes a great campfire. 

And she was so right. So while I will do lots of laundry these next few days in an attempt to get the campfire smell out of all our clothes and jackets, I’ll miss the smell just a bit. Because it reminds me of the joy of sitting around a campfire, admiring the beautiful orange embers, laughing at the kids and enjoying the company, and being blessed by the love and community of some of my favorite people in this world.