It was early winter, and we were sleeping in the open. The fire had died down, and the cold was penetrating, so I rose in order to stoke the fire.
However, I found that the wood we had gathered was already spent. The night was clear and the moon was full, so I left the camp to gather more.
After I had walked a distance, the wind began to rise. Before I could make my way back, clouds blew in, blotting out the moonlight, and I could no longer see.
It began to snow and the wind rose further. Soon I found myself surrounded by the chaos of a blizzard in the open at midnight.
I thought that I was surely lost.
But then my friend appeared next to me in the storm, and the warmth of his love shown about me. The storm responded to him and began to abate. As it receded, the grandeur of the creation surrounding me emerged and the night became still and calm. I had the sense that I was seeing creation itself for the first time.
I looked into the eyes of my friend, and I was heartened to know that I fit within this creation. I belonged to it and it belonged to me. I was inspired to know that this creation was an act of love. I might never understand that mystery completely, but as long as I always remembered that love wrought creation, I would never again be lost in the chaos I had just experienced.
My friend led me back to camp, where the fire was burning strong and bright and warm. And I slept soundly and completely, covered by the blanket of the world.