There is something incredible about sitting around a fire in the middle of nature with good friends. And if you find yourself at a campfire in the middle of nature with a group of strangers, I have no doubt that they too will soon be your good friends.

Campfires bring out this desire to sit, watch, listen, and rest. You cannot be hurried around a campfire. (That is, unless you are building a campfire on the brink of a storm and you only have so long to cook the food you brought before the inevitable downpour. And I’m not writing that out of experience or anything.) When you sit around a campfire, you enjoy talking, asking questions, hearing stories, and sharing stories. I’m convinced that there is something within us that was made for this.

I often think about the Israelites and how hard of a life they had. They went through a lot of ups and downs, but especially a lot of downs. They spent 40 years in a desert. They had a system of sacrifices they had to perform in order to be right with God. This group of people constantly had to build fires. These fires would have been used for food preparation, warmth, and sacrifices. (Side note: Do you think they got tired of their clothes smelling like campfires too?)

We don’t know everything about the Israelites and their way of life. So, I often wonder if they sat around campfires at night, sharing stories from the day and remembering the faithfulness of God. I wonder what things they thought were funny and what stories they enjoyed telling the most. And I wonder what it was like to build a fire in a desert every single day for 40 years.

I also think they were probably all really good at getting fires started and keeping them going. We often “cheat” this by bringing fire starters, lighter fluid, torches, matches, etc. This is a skill I’m still trying to master. But back to the point.

Campfires may be one of my favorite things. I think a big part of this has to with them being in nature, which I love. It is a joy to sit around a fire and stare up into the tall trees around you, hear the leaves crunch under your feet, smell the bark and sap of the forest, and gaze up at the stars. But the other part is that campfires bring people together. They allow people to sit, rest, and chat. They provide a place where everyone has a chance to talk and share because everyone has the time to listen. You may find yourself around a fire with some people you don’t know very well, but somehow, by the flames of the fire and with the reality that there is no place to rush off to, it allows you to feel invited in and known. The flames themselves provide light in the darkest of nights, creating an invitation to sit and savor for just a moment or two. The flames dancing in front of you allow you to forget about the rest of the world for just a moment. And there is peace. Rest. Joy. Delight.

If you haven’t enjoyed a campfire in a while, I encourage you to make one soon and enjoy all that it provides. Invite some friends you know well or some friends you want to know better, and then just sit and relax together. Enjoy the sounds and smells of nature. Talk about the past and the future. Make a smore or two. Be reminded that the God who created everything around you is so big and so kind to give us small glimpses of heaven. And sometimes that comes through something as simple as a campfire.