Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Layering In the Two

Well, God had both concepts placed in the same place. He had me back in the fold and he had me naked.

Leading me to water was simple, now God had to make me drink, as the proverb goes. He had to get me involved in a ministry to the nudist community. It had to be something my wife and I would be interested in. It had to be part of His plan for us. And, it had to be easy enough for this very inexperienced person to handle.

Some time earlier, I began to read the rec.nude Uesgroup on the internet. Among the members was a guy who most of us older nudists remember, Cheef. He was the owner and creator of www.cheef.com. He also sponsored a Christian Nudist Marriage Retreat. After some discussion, my wife and I agreed to attend. We ended up attending every year until the retreat had run its course.

In the next few years, I kept posting and reading many newsgroups and message boards dealing with Christian nudism.

Often, the idea of gathering together and meeting face-to-face came up in the discussions. some suggested meeting at Cypress Cove. Others suggested more western locations. The one constant note heard in each discussion was that no one took charge and arranged for the meeting. Usually, when I saw a thread like that, I would grumble under my breath about the lack of leadership and go on. Finally, on Rick and Julie's list and on a whim, I offered to arrange for the gathering. The only thing I asked was for someone to help. No one did. It came up again, and I felt safe in offering to arrange one, knowing no one would offer to help and I would not have to set this up.

God has an unusual fascination with three's. If you notice most of His work is in three's. This was no exception. When the thread rolled around again, I boldly made the statement that if someone, anyone, would volunteer to help, I would set up the meeting. Without fear or panic, I sent the posting along and sat back, waiting for a mountain of silence on the subject. In the blank white space of my emails, however, came a single solitary response from a guy named Trailscout. "I'll help."

Now was the time of my great trepidation, fear, and knee-knocking panic. Someone had actually agreed to help. Not just someone, but someone who answered on the list where everyone in the group knew he had volunteered. I was stuck! I had to arrange for this gathering.

Have I mentioned to you that I hadn't yet told my wife about all this? That night, my wife and I discussed the problems involved with such an undertaking and the help we needed. After making a decision to continue, we started making a list of items logistical problems to address and a list of other friends that might want to help.

I can't tell you how much Trailscout has been a part of building this program. Not only was he the first, he was one of the most supportive. Over the next post, we will delve into this gathering. Although it wasn't the first Christian nudist gathering, it has been the longest lasting. But that is for the next posting.

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