A Lesson Learned, Speak Not Foolish Things

There has been a story on our local news for the last two days concerning a man whose dog was grabbed by a cougar.  The man chased after the cougar and was able to save his dog..  this story reminded me of a terrifying experience that took place almost 20 years ago which has never and will never leave my mind.  This piece was written while the events were fresh in my mind.  it is long but I hope it will be a lesson for others who might happen upon it here.

A Lesson Learned - Speak Not Foolish Things

Hebrews 12:6 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

Proverbs 15:2 "The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.”

This devotion is about how the Lord greatly chastened me for making a very foolish statement.  I will never forget it as long as I live.

In 1996 near a town located in the mountains several hours from us, a woman was killed by a cougar.  She had been horseback riding with her three children, and the cougar grabbed her youngest child.  She drove the cougar off, and sent her children for help.  When they returned an hour later with a man, she was dying from the injuries the cougar inflicted on her.  Her dying words to the man were "Please tell my children that I love them."

For some foolish reason at that time I said that it would be very exciting to be eaten by a bear.

In August of that year, my husband and I planned a vacation to Jasper National Park with a friend and her three children. Our friend's husband was staying home, and we used her van and trailer for the trip, plus our tents and camping supplies..  Before the trip, I prayed for lots of animal sightings, as Jasper at that time was full of animals, and it was my fervent desire that my friend and her children would get to enjoy them as we had in our visits there in the past. My friend and the children would sleep in our large tent, and my husband and I would sleep in our small tent. "Junior and Senior" as the tents were named..

We headed to Lake Louise to spend a couple of nights in Banff before our trip up the Icefields Parkway.   That night we set up camp next to the washroom at my husband's insistence.  The site was on a hill above  a grassy area.  That night I awoke to hear an animal in the area below us, but it didn't come any closer, so I didn't worry about it.  My friend heard it too, and in the morning she said "I think we had a visitor."  Lake Louise has grizzly bears visit that campground regularly, but I don't know what kind of animal it was.

The next day we went the old road to Banff, and my friend and the kids saw their first black bear with a cub eating berries not far from the road.  A couple of days later, on a Monday, we headed up the Parkway, and later in the afternoon we arrived at Whistlers campground.  The site assigned to us was occupied mistakenly by a couple of young men, so we took the one opposite them, and were surrounded by elk cows with their calves.  Shortly after, we watched an elk cow trample a small tent that was in her walking path.  Surely the animal sightings I had prayed for were being given.

That night, I awoke to hear the sound of wood being banged around in the woodpile located by the shower building which was located through some trees a short distance away from our site.  It wasn't a person making the sound, and it wasn't a rat, it was definitely a bear.  So I woke husband up and said, "there's a bear in the woodpile, we have to get into the van.  I asked him if we should wake our friend up and he said no, because he didn't want to disturb the kids.  So we left our sleeping bags and got into the van.  Right after that we heard a car alarm go off, and then shortly after, it went off again.  And right after that husband said "Vicki, LOOK!!!!" and there was a very large black bear passing right in front of us.  It crossed over to the camp spot that we were supposed to be in, its back was taller than the van headlights. We waited in the car for a time, and then returned to the tent.

The next morning we discovered all that had happened.  After the wood pile, the bear went to the tent next to us, where they had left out some licorice and a container of milk.  The bear ripped open the milk and ate the licorice.  The people were watching it from their tent, but when it turned to look at them they got frightened and set off their car alarm, causing it to rear up on its hind legs.  They set the alarm off again, and that's when we saw it walk by us.  The young men in the spot which we were supposed to take across from us  had left their food out on the picnic table, and the bear proceeded to rip it all apart, even puncturing beer cans and drinking the beer.  Then it circled their tent a couple of times and headed off.   I took some video of the campsite and needless to say, the young men left that day..

The rangers were called in and set up a bear trap baiting it with honey and fish, That night, I was very frightened to sleep in the tent, and for the next two nights slept in the van.  Tuesday night was quiet, but the next morning around 10:00 there was a bear in someone's campsite and the rangers chased it out banging a shovel.  We continued to visit the Jasper sites, seeing lots of mountain sheep the kids had a good time with, because they come right up to you. People forget that they are wild animals. We also saw a coyote when we had the van parked at the side of the road, but very uncoyote-like, it walked right up to the van while my friend was filming it.  She kept asking if she should come inside, but we kept telling her "not yet".

Wednesday was quiet also, and we enjoyed a day seeing the sights and going river rafting.  Thursday was also quiet but that night my friend, my husband and I were sitting around the campfire after the kids were in bed.  Then we saw what looked like a camera flash going off, and then my friend almost jumped out of her chair and gasped.  I looked around but saw nothing, and asked her what it was, she said nothing, but later admitted that it looked like the shadow of a bear.  Later on we woke up in the middle of the night to hear people running around yelling "can you see it? can you see it?"  We found out the next morning that a couple of campsites from us a lady was sitting by herself while her family was at the nature show.  A bear came into her campsite, opened her food box, and contented itself eating cereal while she sat there quietly exclaiming "help! help!"  someone heard her, and came to her assistance, but when they saw the bear they went and got their camera and took pictures. That night the lady slept in her van also,  and the bear came back, and her husband and son called the rangers who went looking for it.

Well, by now things were getting pretty tense.  It was Friday, and that morning making breakfast I spilled some bacon juice on the ground, and just knew we were in for trouble.  We spent the day wandering around Jasper, seeing some very large bull elk, and then a strong wind and a thunderstorm rolled in and we had rain by supper.

That night the real terror began.  I awoke at midnight to the screams of two women, and I jumped out of the sleeping bag and ripped open the tent zipper.  Husband told me firmly to get back in bed, and while I was zipping up the tent, what sounded like an elk calf ran crying right past the tent, followed by a bear making that awful "huffing" sound they make and he also ran right past the tent.  I begged husband to help me back into the sleeping bag while the bear stopped chasing the elk and proceeded to walk back and forth behind the tent, its feet splashing in the wet ground.  I was praying silently "Lord, please make him go away, please make him go away," and then remembering my foolish statement about being eaten by a bear "I'm sorry I ever said such a foolish thing, please make him go away" and soon after, the footsteps faded and the bear went away.

I started to shake and couldn't stop, and the very next morning we packed up and headed home.  There were bear tracks all around the tent, but thankfully, during all the experiences of the nights past, by the grace of God, the kids had slept peacefully through it all.

My husband and I were so traumatized by that experience that we both had effects for months afterwards.  I still get bear nightmares.  Now when we visit Jasper, we sleep in the car.

And that is how the Lord chastened me about foolish words uttered.  Never again will I tempt him in such foolish ways.  But I am very thankful that he answered the prayer for animal sightings.