Lessons Learned: Lost

Sometimes it may seem like no big deal to be disobedient, and maybe no one will know or find out. However, as you can see in this story, I soon learned the hard way what can happen when you disobey.

Anne and her brother, John were off to summer camp. Anne was excited to spend time with her friend Hanna who would also be there.

When the children arrived at the camp, Miss Else who was one of the workers went over the rules with them. Miss Else told the group they were welcome to play outside in their free-time. She then gave them specific instructions not to go into the wooded area that was nearby. Miss Else explained to them that it was very easy to get lost in the forest.

The next morning the sun was shining. Since it was such a nice day, Anne and her friend Hanna decided to go outside and play ball.

As the girls kicked the ball back and forth, they got closer and closer to the edge of the forbidden forest.

While Anne and Hanna were playing, they noticed an unusual bird. They had never seen a bird like it before, and decided to get a closer look.

The bird flew into the woods while the girls followed close behind. When they got inside the forest, Hanna and Anne soon lost sight of the bird. However, they quickly noticed that there were lots of other interesting things to look at.

The girls remembered they had been told not to go into the woods because they could easily get lost. Anne and Hanna didn't think it was a big deal to look around a little while they were in the forest. Besides, they could still see the building they were staying at, and no one would have to know they had disobeyed.

Both Anne and Hanna were excited to explore the forest. They were having so much fun! It was as if they were finding hidden treasures everywhere.

The two friends had not gone very far when they realized they could no longer see the building they were staying at. They thought they better find their way back before anyone noticed they had been gone.

However, no matter how much they tried, they could not see which way they had come in. Everything looked the same.

Anne and Hanna noticed a fox. They had never seen one so close before. They didn't know if the fox was going to hurt them and were relieved to see the fox keeping its distance. As they kept trying to find their way back, they got hungry. They knew they must have missed lunch, and wondered if anyone was going to come looking for them.

Anne and Hanna walked around for hours. No matter which way they went, it seemed there was no way out. It was getting dark, Anne and Hanna knew they had missed both lunch and dinner. By now, they were very tired, hungry, and thirsty. Since the sun had gone down, they were also very cold. They were afraid to sit down and rest for fear of bugs crawling on them. They were also afraid that the foxes in the woods were going to eat them.

They were beginning to think they would be forced to spend all night in the forest. Neither of the girls had ever been so scared in their life! Anne said a silent prayer. She asked Heavenly Father if he would send help so they could find their way back.

Just as Anne had ended her prayer, Hanna excitedly shouted, "Look Anne, there is a light coming from that way!" Anne turned to see what Hanna was pointing at.

Immediately, both girls started to run as fast as they could towards the light. As they ran, they could see the light was coming from the building where they were staying at.

Back at the campsite, Miss Else was making sure everyone had gone to bed. It wasn't until now, that she noticed Anne and Hanna were missing. Miss Else thought she had better alert the other workers so they could go looking for the missing girls.

At that very moment, Anne and Hanna came running in. Miss Else asked where they had been. The girls told her that they had gotten lost in the woods. Miss Else scolded them. She said, "This was the very reason why you were instructed never to wander off into the forest." She then made the girls promise that they would not go into the woods again without an adult with them. It was easy for both Anne and Hanna to promise because they had been lost for nearly 10 hours, and they were both sure they weren't about to wander off again. They had learned their lesson on why it was important to obey the rules.

When the girls went to bed, they were both hungry and tired from walking all day. But they were grateful to be in their nice warm beds and away from the dark scary forest.

Anne was even more grateful to the Lord for helping them to see the light. Without it, she knew they could not have found their way back.

Psalm 119:105