As Midsummer approached this year, I found myself thinking a lot about change. The kind of change that John the Baptist advocated when he preached: " Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ." The summer solstice, which fell on Midsummer's Day this year, is a turning point in the Earth's seasonal dance. And I wanted to make it a turning point in my life. A time to make a change that would help me "prepare ... the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight". I prayed a lot in the days leading up to our Midsummer camping trip, hoping that I would have the change of heart I needed to make a change of habits . I had a list of character defects and bad habits I felt particularly discouraged about and hoped that God would grant me the strength to be better. He did just that but not in the way I was expecting. I didn't really feel like I was receiving an answer to my prayers. I didn't feel confident about going out into the ...