Some Things in Life Just Can’t Be Explained

I’m sure we have all had experiences we just cannot explain in any rational way. One of the most vivid memories of my life occurred when I was a counselor at Camp Shiloh, a New Jersey camp for disadvantaged boys from New York City.

During every two-week session, each cabin had to spend one night camping out on a secluded hillside about a mile from the cabins. This was my least favorite part of Camp Shiloh because taking a dozen 13-year-old undisciplined boys a mile from civilization with only one other counselor was not a pleasant task for me. But each session I would dutifully take my turn. We would take wood, kindling, hamburgers, drinks, chips and our sleeping bags and have dinner, games, prayer time, and go to bed.

On one of these trips I was awakened on a beautiful moonlit night because of movement nearby. As I opened my eyes I saw a man dressed in white–like what a baker would wear on the job. His arms were folded and he simply stared. I was too frightened to move and, not knowing what to do, I just acted like I was sleeping as he stood there.

After a while, he simply walked away into the night without saying a word.

I checked around the camp personnel to ask if there was a guard that patrolled the area and I was told there was no such person. No cabins or houses were within a mile or more from the camp proper. No one knew who the man in white might have been.

I’m not sure what I think about guardian angels, but that night on the New Jersey hillside I had a visitor for which there is no explanation.