by Becky Harrison, Secretary at St. Paul UCC, Lebanon
It was scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 2021. A Jr/Sr High Youth outing to DuBois Center. Lot’s of planning and effort went in to picking a date (no small task), coordinating with DuBois Center staff, deciding on a mission project (thank you, Nancy Wagner), gathering supplies, and coordinating a worship and communion service with Pastor Don. Kids and parents alike were so looking forward to getting back to DuBois, or going for the first time. Weather forecasters predicted a comfortable, sunny day, so all was right with the world . . . until a few days later. The forecast changed dramatically from warm and sunny to cool, overcast and rainy. All the planning in the world couldn’t keep the weather from changing. Then, a couple of people had to cancel. Drat!
When the day finally came, I felt excited, but anxious. Had I remembered everything? Were we going to get all the way down there and get rained out? Were the kids going to bored? Were the adults going to be bored? Could the weather have cooperated—at the very least? Was any of this worth the effort? Should I just stay home and take a nap?
After a 1/2 hour delay getting started due to a miscommunication on my part (another sign, perhaps?) we pressed on, and forty-five minutes later we pulled into the entrance of DuBois Center and saw the sign above welcoming our group. We parked, unloaded our haul and made the short walk to Oak Lodge. Inside the lodge, we parked the wagon full of cleaning supplies, our coolers full of goodies for lunch, and I gave a brief rundown of the plans for the day, still wondering what important items I surely had forgotten. Everyone took a moment to get settled in and visit the facilities before we got ready for lunch and the rest of the day’s activities.
After taking a moment to let out a big sigh of relief, I walked through one of the back doors of the lodge leading out to the huge covered patio. As soon as that screen door “whapped” shut behind me and I had a moment to look out over the lake, it happened. With each step I took, it felt like 50 lb. weights fell off of my shoulders. The anxiety fell away, my aggravation at local weather forecasters fell away, if I forgot something—who cared? That, my friends, is the magic of DuBois Center—in the nutshell. No matter how stressed and anxious I am, no matter how irritating highway drivers were on the trip down, no matter all of the other unpleasant things going on in life, it all just melts away when I step on that back porch!