The Great Outdoors
Our Easter celebration on the banks of the Cahaba River was special indeed. (See the March edition of Birmingham Christian Family). It is one of those moments that my girls sometimes reflect on with fondness- an Ebenezer Stone in the memory vault of their life. But admittedly, those fond memories are sometimes overshadowed by what came just a few days after that Easter celebration.
Our camping trip was over. Paddling by kayak, we crossed the shoals just above Centreville, in Bibb County, and we made shore under the Highway 82 bridge. We’d left our trucks there earlier in the week. The bluff under the bridge was steep- more upright than any set of stairs. We clung to toe holds to find footing sufficient to climb up the incline. Getting gear and kayaks up that slope was grueling work. On my second trip up the bluff, a kindly Sheriff’s Deputy approached. “Sir, would you mind stepping over here away from the little ones?” I obliged. “Are you familiar with the Bibb Correctional Facility,” he asked. I told him I was and advised him that I used to live in the area. “Well, sir. A very dangerous man has escaped from the facility this morning. His name is… and he is 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 250 pounds. He should be wearing an orange jump suit. Right now, a team of tracking dogs is pushing him up this bank of the river, and unless he gives up, it is only a matter of time before he gets here.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I looked around to make sure I could see all of the kids and for the first time, I noticed deputies and state police standing on top of the bridge. They were spread in a dragnet along the tree line on the up-river side of the bridge. I had been oblivious to their presence as they protected us as we labored up the bluff. “You folks can keep loading your gear,” the Deputy said adding, “I think you have enough time before he gets here and I understand that you can’t just leave it, but if he comes through the tree line, I need y’all to immediately take cover in your truck and lock the doors.” I spent a minute telling the girls what the Deputy advised. He stood close by, ever vigilant. I appreciated his presence. After my third trip down the bank and then a labored strain back up and to the truck, I could hear hounds. They were faint but increasing in volume. I told the girls to be alert. “Those are the tracking dogs,” I said nervously. But the officers were staged everywhere- omnipresent, almost.
Bay, Cape and I struggled to get our last load up the bluff. Mid-stride, Cape stopped and stared into the woods. The dogs were close- as if they would pierce the veil of the woods at any moment. “How did they cover so much ground so quickly?” I wondered. Cape stood motionless, and just as I was about to get on to her for not getting the last of the gear, the dog’s barking became unmistakably present. “Daaaaaad! There he is!” Cape yelled. Her eyes were wide and focused, and her finger pointed to the convict bursting through the brush line. Shouting ensued and the chaos was deafening. “Get in the truuuuuck,” my friend Chris shouted, and everyone started running. The convict was not more than 50 feet away and was running nearly full speed. He would be upon us in a few seconds. All of the kids piled into the truck and locked the door. But with instantaneous precision, police descended from every nook and cranny of the bridge and the fellow was quickly subdued.
Omnipresent. He protects us when we don’t even know He is there. “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:8
-Walt Merrell
A Christian Outdoorsman who writes of his adventures with his family, with the hope that others might be inspired and encouraged to embrace God’s tapestry, otherwise known as the great outdoors, as a means of finding Common Ground. You can follow him at Shepherding Outdoors on FB, YT and IG and at shepherdingoutdoors.com. His most recent book is available at shepherdingbook.com. Read his faith story at www.BirminghamChristian.com.
