03/21/2004: "The Rescuers"

By Carol J. Warren

In the mountain forest near the edge of the Park there was a trail that led far, far into the forest. It was not a normal trail; no it was not normal at all. It was dark and foreboding. The thick trees of the forest met over the trail and there was lots of thick underbrush all around at the bottom of it. It made the trail look like a very deep dark tunnel going into the heart of the forest. The bottom of the trail was thick with fallen leaves showing that it was not walked enough to wear them down. That is because no one walking the trail ever made it to the end of the trail or ever made it back.

Most people felt that this was because of wild animals like bears, mountain lions and wolves. The area was also known to have many poison snakes like rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths. But some people said that the trail was haunted and it was set as a trap by the devil to lure unsuspecting souls in to die. That is how it got its name Devil’s Pass. Whatever the reason most people had enough sense to stay away from it realizing it just wasn’t a good place to go because of the dangers whatever the reasons for those dangers might be.

There were plenty of friendly trails to hike in the area, really beautiful woods if people wanted to hike without the danger. You didn’t have to go near this part of the forest at all and most didn’t. But one young man decided he was going to try it. He was going to hike Devil’s Pass, not only that he was going to hike it by himself. Well really he couldn’t find anyone crazy enough to go with him. It was unbelievable but this young man was going to hike this dangerous trail by himself. His name was Simon.

He had heard the legends of the trail all of his life. He grew up near these woods. He did a lot of hiking and camping but growing up his dad would never let him go near Devil’s Trail. But Simon felt that it was all stories were just a bunch of hooey. He had enough experience to handle anything he might encounter and he had the best gear there was. He had a great tear proof tent, no bear or mountain lion would claw through that tent and everything he could possibly need. He even had his dad’s high-powered .22 rifle. Granted a .22 was not strong enough to down a grizzly bear but he felt it was all that he would need. He didn’t believe there were really grizzlies in these woods anyway.

His dad and mom tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn’t listen. So they just told him that they would be praying for him. Their main concern was that their son had never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior. His dad had a deep feeling inside that something was wrong about this trip but since his son wouldn’t listen he determined to spend a great deal of his time in prayer while his son was gone. Simon just smiled at his dad. He thought his dad was just a superstitious old man but his dad knew the Lord and his dad knew something was wrong.

Simon waited for his dad to catch up. He couldn’t walk as fast as he use to. He had insisted on accompanying Simon to the entrance of the trail and praying over Simon before he left. Simon didn’t believe in all that prayer junk but his dad was getting older now and Simon didn’t want him to wear himself out and make himself sick worrying. If praying made his dad feel better about things then Simon would go along with it just to comfort his dad.

They reached the entrance of the trail. Simon had forgotten just how spooky the old trail looked. He couldn’t help but think of all the legends he had heard as he looked down the trail. A warning had been posted at the entrance of the trail stating that this trail was not safe to hike because of unknown dangers and wild animals. Simon just laughed at it. But his dad looked at it gravely. Simon carefully double-checked everything in his backpack. Tear proof tent, sleeping bag, dried foods, fruits and nuts. He had his flashlight and batteries, his hunting knife, rifle and bullets and first aid kit. He was ready.

His dad waited patiently until Simon was done and ready to go, then he stepped forward to speak. “I guess there is nothing I can say to convince you not to go, is there son?” He asked.

“No,” Simon said solemnly trying to understand how his dad must feel sending his only son to what he thought was certain danger.

“Then let’s pray.” His dad said bowing his head. Simon took his cap off and bowed his head, more out of respect for his dad than anything else.

His dad prayed, “Dear Lord I can’t be everywhere and take care of everything the way I would like to but I know you can. So I ask you to take care of Simon on this trip. I can’t go on this trail with my son but I know you can and I ask you to do that very thing Lord, go with him every step of the way. Protect him and watch over him. Keep him from danger of every kind and bring him home safe and sound I pray. In the quite of the nights Lord meet with him and cause him to know you and that you are real and that you love him. I let go of him Lord and I give him to you. I entrust him to your care. I thank you for it Lord, because I am trusting you to do ‘whatever it takes’ to rescue my son Simon. In Jesus Christ holy name Amen.”

Simon said a quick amen hugged his dad good bye and started walking. He was glad that was over with. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Man the things we do for our parents just to make them happy. He knew his dad would pray for him the whole time he was gone. Probably even late into the night but that’s just the way his dad was. That’s his dad’s thing, praying but it’s not his thing.

Simon couldn’t believe how very dark the forest was once you got inside of the dark tunnel. A little light would filter through here and there but mostly it was a creepy darkness that caused a shadowy land of dimly lit bushes and trees to seem alive. Of course it didn’t bother Simon because he didn’t believe in all the hogwash people said about these woods and this trail. His eyes adjusted enough to the shadowy darkness to be able to see where he was going and what was about him. But it did seem strange to know that outside of these woods it was bright daylight.

Along the trail Simon encountered many forest creatures. There were squirrels, chipmunks. He liked the chipmunks because when they ate it looked like they were praying and it reminded him of his dad. He laughed trying to remember that he would have to tell his dad about the praying chipmunks. He saw rabbits, foxes, possums, skunks and deer but he didn’t see anything dangerous. Though he did see an occasional snake Simon had been careful to wear hiking boots that a snake would not be able to bite through. He had done his homework and he was prepared for whatever came his way.

Simon saw some unusual things that day. He saw a beaver with no tail. “Must have had an accident.” Simon thought. He saw a white squirrel and then to top off the day he saw a yellow snake. He had never seen a yellow snake and could not tell what kind of snake it was. He didn’t want to get too close, just in case it was poisonous but he made a note to himself to find out about yellow snakes when he got back.

That night as Simon set up camp he was feeling confident. He was young, strong and capable; there was nothing he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it. He double checked his tent and went inside to bed down for the night. Nighttime was pitch black in the dark forest. You couldn’t see the moon or stars or even a glimmer of light through the trees. He didn’t want to leave his light on for long as it might actually draw unwanted attention from some of the rougher night predators. Simon was so smart, he was always thinking ahead like that. He went to sleep happy and snug.

But Simon’s dreams that night were very odd, very odd indeed. He saw a man. He seemed so real as though Simon could just reach out and touch him. The man just stared at Simon with sad eyes. He never said a word. He looked so kind and compassionate that Simon wanted to ask him why he was so sad and why he was staring at him but he was afraid to. That wasn’t like Simon; he’s usually not afraid of anything; but this sweet sad looking man that kept staring at him made Simon feel afraid.

Simon woke in a sweat. It wasn’t that he was hot it was a nervous sweat. Even though his eyes were wide open now and he was awake he couldn’t seem to get that man out of his mind. He could still see him staring at him with those sad eyes. He rubbed his eyes to make the vision of it go away. That’s when he heard a sound outside of his tent. It sounded like something scratching at the side of Simon’s tent. Normally Simon would have grabbed his gun and ran outside to see what it was but after just having that unusual dream Simon felt afraid. He was afraid to open the tent and see what it was.

He hadn’t felt like this since he was a little boy and he thought there were monsters under the bed and he was afraid to get out from under the covers to see what was there. Whatever it was just kept scratching. “This is ridiculous,” Simon, said out loud to himself, “there’s nothing to be afraid of.” But he still couldn’t make himself go see what it was.

“Well it can’t be a big old bear,” Simon reasoned, “Or he would just knock the tent over. A mountain lion would be caving in the side of the tent too and so would a wolf. It wasn’t a smaller animal because the scratching sound was coming to high from the ground. But it was a soft scratching, almost like a plea to come in. Fear gripped Simon, suddenly in his mind he thought, “It is the man in my dream. The man that was staring at me.”

Then out loud Simon said to himself, “That’s silly. It was just a dream. Come on Simon since when are you a scaredy cat.” He said it out loud to shake himself. But it didn’t work. He was still afraid. He couldn’t go back to sleep though he tried. Every time he shut his eyes he could just see that man staring at him. He lay there all night listening to the soft scratching on the side of the tent hoping for daybreak so he could see well enough to get up and continue his hike. Finally daybreak came. Simon felt better after he washed and ate.

He prepared his gear carefully but before he packed his gear he studied the ground around the tent to see if there were any foot prints that might give him a clue as to what had been scratching on his tent last night but the forest floor was so thick with leaves that there were no foot prints anywhere. The longer Simon walked the more his confidence returned. “I can’t believe I got spooked last night.” Simon thought, “I must have been listening to too many scary stories about this place before I left and they just caused me to have weird dreams.” Simon convinced himself it was really nothing after all.

He covered a lot of ground that day and saw several unusual things. He saw two trees that had grown together in such a way that the tops were joined but the bottoms were bowed apart like an archway. It looked like a special doorway into a mysterious land. The funny thing was that Simon had to walk through it. The trail led right through it and the forest was too dense on either side to veer to the right or left. “How odd.” Simon thought.

Then he saw flowers growing where it looked like there was never light. “How odd,” Simon thought, “Flowers need more light than that to grow.” Then Simon saw a bird nesting in the top of an active beehive. The beehive hung from a large branch in a tree and the bird’s nest was directly on top of it. “What a crazy bird.” Simon thought, “it’s just asking for trouble.” He chuckled about the odd sight as walked on through the woods never thinking about how much he was like the bird on a beehive, hiking right into danger.

It was time for Simon to set up camp for the night. He very carefully checked the perimeter of his camp for safety. He set his tent up in a safe place. He had a nice supper of nuts and dried fish then he settled into his sleeping bag to go to sleep. He found himself gazing into the darkness for a while, listening to make sure nothing was there. “This is silly,” Simon thought, “I am stronger than some dumb old dream. I will just go to sleep.” So Simon rolled over and finally went to sleep.

But Simon had that same dream again. That man was there staring at Simon. He looked so sad. There also seemed to be a question in his look. But Simon couldn’t figure out what the question was. Simon wanted to ask the man who he was and why he was staring at him but he was afraid to speak. It seemed the man was looking into his very soul. Simon wanted to hide but he couldn’t move. Again Simon woke up in a sweat. He couldn’t shake the picture of that man staring at him. He couldn’t seem to get that picture out of his head. Then Simon turned and looked at the upper wall of his tent.

Somehow he knew the man was there and that he wanted to come in. Quietly, softly something started scratching the outside of Simon’s tent. It wasn’t a bear or a mountain lion. They would be much more forceful and the sound was too high up to be a smaller animal. Unless Simon was right and it was that man and he did wanted in. Simon froze in terror, he couldn’t move. “This is silly.” Simon thought to himself. “I’m just going to get up and go see what it is.” But Simon couldn’t move. He had never been so frightened. He lay there all night listening to the sound of something scratching on the outside of his tent wishing for daybreak so what ever it was would go away.

Finally daybreak came and Simon got up. This was his second night with little or no sleep and he was beginning to feel the effect of it. He splashed cold water on his face and made a strong cup of coffee. Soon he felt more like his usual self and was ready to continue his journey. He couldn’t wait to see his dad’s face when he found out all the worry was over nothing. Why he would be the town hero. It would make the papers for sure; he would be the first person to make it all the way through Devil’s Pass.

He didn’t notice as many unusual things today but he wasn’t as alert as he had been before because of his lack of sleep. He did find a neat clearing at the end of the day to camp in. It was the first real clearing he had seen since he started his hike. It was a small clearing in the middle of the dark woods where for the first time in days Simon could see the sky and even enjoy the twinkle of stars as night fell. It cheered his heart to see the light. The night wasn’t pitch black in his little clearing, which meant it wasn’t as scary. Not that Simon was scared. It was all just the power of suggestion giving him bad dreams, he was sure to sleep well tonight, and he was tired enough that’s for sure.

Simon settled into his sleeping bag feeling much better about things. A good nights sleep and he would be his old self again. It wasn’t long before Simon was sound asleep. But it also wasn’t long before Simon was dreaming and in his dream he saw that same man. Again the man was staring at him with that same sad look but this time there was something urgent about the way he looked at Simon. As though he had something important to say and was waiting for Simon to do something to let him say it. Simon wanted to ask him what it was, he really did but he was just too scared. The man reached out to touch Simon, and then Simon woke up. He was shaking all over and terrified. He waited for the scratching to begin. He looked at the side of the tent where the scratching sound had come from before.

But this time the scratching sound was at the front of the tent where the zipper was. Simon thought, “Oh no, whatever it is it’s going to come in.” But it didn’t come in. It just kept scratching at the door of the tent. Simon remembered the look on the man’s face that look of urgency. He knew somehow that whatever was outside scratching at his tent was the man he had seen in his dream. It may sound crazy but he just knew and he also knew that tonight he must overcome his fears and find out what he wanted.

Slowly Simon unzipped his sleeping bag. His hands were shaking so hard that he could hardly unzip it but he finally did. He knelt there in a crouched position at the door of the tent for a long time listening to the scratching, seeing that man’s face in his mind. Finally he began to unzip the tent door. He only had it opened a couple of inches when the scratching stopped. In the moonlight he could see a man’s feet. Simon had never been so afraid but he knew he had to open that tent flap and see who this man really was. Slowly he unzipped the tent and there was the man Simon had seen in his dream, standing there in front of him. Simon was still in a crouched position inside the tent looking up at him.

The man pointed and started to walk off, he stopped and looked back waiting for Simon to follow. Simon tried to stand. His knees felt week and his head swam. What was he doing? What did this all mean? But the urgency in the man’s sad eyes told him he wasn’t going to hurt him and that whatever it was it was important. So Simon got up and began to follow the man to the edge of the clearing. There by a large tree was a grave. The man knelt at the grave and began to cry. Simon felt awkward. He didn’t know what to do.

The man looked at Simon. There was so much sorrow in his face that Simon had to look away. The man pointed to Simon and then to the wooden grave marker. Simon understood the man wanted him to read the grave marker. Simon crept over to the marker. It had a lot of dirt on it and the light was still just moonlight. He didn’t think he would be able to make it out. But the man pointed again. His hands were still shaking but Simon managed to wipe some of the dirt away until he was able to see the date. It was tomorrow. Unless it was already after midnight, then it was today. How could that be? The date of death couldn’t be a future date it must be a mistake.

The man pointed to the marker again and Simon began to wipe more of the dirt away. “First he saw an S – I – M – O – N, Simon.” Simon’s heart began to pound. “Simon what?” He began to wipe frantically at the grave marker straining to see. It was his name. “That’s me, that’s my name.” Simon said out loud. “What does that mean?” He was no longer afraid of the man, he was more afraid of what the gravestone meant with his name on it.

The man pointed at the grave and the grave opened up. Simon was looking down into the grave, deep, deep into the bowels of the earth, into hell. There in the flames he saw a figure in pain. The flames were in the way so he couldn’t see him well. Then the figure came forward where he could see better. It was Simon. There was a word written across his back and across his chest. Suddenly Simon knew it was suppose to be the name of his god. “It can’t be the name of a god,” Simon said, “I don’t believe in God.” But when Simon strained he was able to read the name of his god that was written across his chest. It was self. Simon had trusted in himself not God. He trusted in his youth, his strength and his ability but his own strength couldn’t save him now.

Then the grave closed. The man looked at Simon with tears in his eyes. “I wanted to help you.” He said sadly, “But you wouldn’t let me in.”

Now Simon understood that this was Jesus. That the reason he had been scratching on the tent was like knocking at the door of Simon’s heart. That is why he never just came into the tent. Simon had to ask him in. He saw a picture in front of his eyes. It was his dad crying and praying for Simon. Simon knew the reason the Lord was able to come and warn him was because his dad was praying with all of his heart.

Simon turned back to see the Lord but the Lord was gone and so was the grave. Simon knew that he had just experienced a miracle and the reason for that miracle was his dad’s prayers. But what was he suppose to do now? According to what the Lord showed him sometime today he was going to die. Yes, he was going to die and go to hell. Well at least he could do something about that part of it. He tried to remember the sinner’s prayer. He was afraid that if he didn’t get it right it wouldn’t count and he didn’t have any time to spare. He didn’t know that the Lord looks at the attitude of the heart and not just the words. Then he remembered a little package he had found in the bottom of his backpack. It was in a yellow oilcloth tied up with a string. On it was this note, ‘Open in case of emergency’. He knew it was something his dad had sneaked in there. He hadn’t paid any attention to it before but now he was hoping it was something that could help him.
Simon ran into the tent and fumbled through his pack until he found the yellow package his dad had packed for him. He took his hunting knife and cut the string. Then he opened the protecting oilcloth. It was a bible with a note attached from his dad. “My dear son, if you are opening this package, then you are in trouble. Please realize that whatever you are facing I am praying. I have written down the scriptures that explain who Jesus Christ is and the plan of salvation and I have written out the sinner’s prayer for you to use. Once you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, as your Lord and Savior He will do the rest. I love you my son. Love Dad.”

Simon began to cry. He couldn’t believe he had made fun of his dad for being so faithful to the Lord. He just wished he could have a chance to tell him that his prayers did make a difference and that his son had gotten saved. But today was to be his last day alive. Carefully Simon read the scriptures his father outlined for him and prayed the sinner’s prayer. A new peace settled over him. Whatever else happened today he knew he wasn’t going to go to hell. He had traded the god of self for the one true living God.

Slowly Simon packed up camp, it was daylight now. Simon hated to leave the bright clearing for the dark shadows of the forest but he just shook it off and kept going. The day was half over and nothing eventful had happened. Simon was beginning to think that maybe the things that happened last night weren’t real. Then Simon heard a large crashing sound behind him. It was a very large angry grizzly bear and he was not happy that Simon was in is territory. Grizzly bears are very protective of their territory and will often attack anything that seems threatening in their territory and to this grizzly that was Simon.

The grizzly bear reared up on his hind legs pawing the at the air, growling in anger. Then he jumped down on all fours and began running toward Simon. Simon took off running. He was trying to run and free up his rifle at the same time. He knew a .22 rifle wasn’t going to kill a grizzly as a matter of fact it would probably just make him madder but perhaps it would slow him down for a moment and give Simon a chance to get out of there.

Finally he got his gun free and turned and shot the grizzly. Simon turned to run and tripped throwing his gun into a tree. He didn’t have time to think about it the grizzly had already shaken the gunshot off and was heading Simon’s way in a rage. Simon quickly shook his backpack off so he could run faster and took of running blindly. It was hard to run with the thick underbrush of the forest but he was doing ok until he realized that he had turned into a dead end cliff with no way out. He could hear the grizzly not far behind.

He tried to climb up the cliff but it was made of shale and it kept breaking off making him fall. He wasn’t going to make it. He leaned there with his face against the hard cliff wall. “Lord Jesus Christ help me!” Simon cried out. For the first time in his life he needed help beyond anything he could possibly do. “Then this must be it,” Simon thought as he waited for the bear to attack. “I’m going to die now.” Sweat trickled down his face from fear and exhaustion as he waited with his face pressed against the cliff for the bear to attack; the attack that was to kill him. But nothing happened. Not only that Simon realized he couldn’t hear the bear anymore.

Simon turned around to see the bear running like a scalded dog into the woods as fast as he could. “What happened?” Simon asked out loud. Then Simon saw that same man he had seen the night before standing with his back to him. He knew now it was the Lord.

The Lord turned to Simon, “You asked me to help you.” He said grinning. “So I did.”

“But the grave and hell…” Simon sputtered.

“That’s what would have happened just now if you hadn’t repented and let Me into your life.” The Lord said still smiling. Simon was so relieved. He couldn’t believe it. He was saved. He wasn’t going to die and he wasn’t going to hell. He was double saved. He was still in shock from it all.

“Simon?” the Lord asked

“Yes Lord,” Simon answered

“What are you doing here?” The Lord asked, “Why are you walking this trail? You know what’s on the other side of this forest; you have driven there before. So why are you here?”

Simon stopped, he had never asked himself why he was hiking this trail, it was just something he had to do but now that he was asking himself he didn’t like the answer. It was to prove how superior he was and that he could do what others had not. To prove that he was self-sufficient and to make everyone else stand up and take notice of him. Simon hung his head. He was ashamed to answer. All he had really proven was that he couldn’t do it and that he wasn’t self-sufficient. He was just a man and he needed a savior.

“There is no need to be ashamed Simon.” The Lord said kindly, “That was the old Simon, you are a new creation now, right? Go home Simon. Your dad is waiting for you.”

“Yes,” Simon said, “I need to go home.” When he looked up the Lord was gone. But Simon felt confident that though he couldn’t see the Lord He was still there. His confidence was in the Lord now and not in himself. He gathered all the stuff that he had scattered in the chase and packed it up. He climbed the tree to retrieve his dad’s gun and headed home. He hiked double time and made it back in only two days.

There was his dad at the entrance of the trail on his knees praying. Simon ran to him dropping his pack and his gun along the way. He ran and embraced his dad crying. He told his dad everything that happened and how the Lord was able to rescue him because of his dad’s prayers and how important his emergency kit had turned out to be.

Then he looked at his dad thoughtfully and said, “I was able to give it a lot of thought on the way back. I was rescued because you prayed and believed and wouldn’t give up. Because you made the word available when I was ready to listen. Now dad, will you teach me how to be a rescuer like you.”

This story is more than just about a man that got saved, it is about the rescuer, his dad. His prayer, faith and providing the word at a crucial time made him a rescuer.

Jesus said in Mark 16:15-16 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

James 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Now you can be a rescuer too.