Last week was church camp. As I sit and reflect on that week, my mind
goes in a million different directions.
Our camp is planned and staffed by parents and church members. It always strikes me how much our youth group
loves camp and part of that is loving having parents there. I’ll never forget my sister, Angela, being
astonished that the kids enjoy this aspect of camp saying, “When I was that
age, I would never have wanted my parents (or other adults I knew) there!” Maybe it is that when we are there, we aren’t
their parents like we are all the other days of their lives. Maybe it is as Kelsey said, “We don’t know
any different.” This is the way camp has
always been for them. Or maybe it is
that we are actually a lot of fun to be around.
It’s probably a combination of all three. One thing is for sure, Darren, one of the
parents who is always at teen camp, didn’t go this year and he was sorely
missed by the campers.
In response to the question, “Why do you go to camp?”
Alan once said, “I go to camp to help the youth grow closer to God. But, it always ends up working on me.” That is exactly why I go to camp every
year. There is no other week of the year
in which I am so continually drawn back to a focus on God. It recharges my batteries, even in the midst
of physical and sometimes emotional draining.
Singing has and always will be such a spiritual boost for me and every
year I so look forward to hearing 100 voices singing God’s praises. And then to add four part harmonies and
rounds to the songs, well that is just the icing on the cake. Evening worship in the mess hall and the
singing at the lakeside fill my soul, often to a point of tears of joy.
I love watching the kids grow, not only closer to each
other, but to God. I think these two things
are dependent on each other. For
example, God’s love shines through one camper who invites another camper who
had been isolating himself to sit by her during lunch. God’s love shines through hearing all the
boys during swim time last year cheering on another camper who was trying so
hard to learn to swim. God’s love shines
through when I see one camper console another through grief or a trying
time. God’s love shines through when I
see campers give Kelsey piggy back rides around camp because it hurts her legs
to walk much. I could go on and on but
the point is, if you haven’t gotten it already, is that God works through
people to tend to each other. As you get
closer to God, you can’t help but be used by Him.
As I reflect on this year’s camp specifically, my first
thought is consistently, “This year was the most FUN.” The memories I have first are of laughter,
both my own and others, dancing, ping pong, losing in volleyball (the staff
lost to the campers for the first time in about 12 years!), and skit
night. I managed to mortify both of my
kids and make 100 people really laugh all within the same five seconds. JOY! J The girls’ counselor skit and Father Father
were hilarious! It was also a week in
which my sisters in Christ ministered to me.
Through them, I felt God’s loving presence and His arms wrapped tightly
around me.
In the days since camp, I’ve wondered if I missed something since the fun aspect has outweighed the spiritual aspect. In the end, I think God knew what I needed. With the stressors currently in my life, I needed a release. I needed FUN. God provided that for me, even before I fully knew that it was what I needed so badly.
For your listening enjoyment, I tried to attach a couple of audio files of the kids singing last year. But I couldn't figure out how to do audio files instead of video files. So, instead I've attached the video of Zoegroup singing Magnificat. Just try to imagine hearing it with 100 voices in an enclosed mess hall with great accoustics.
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