I’ve been a little weepy lately.
Not like sobbing… just having to blink back tears and fan my eyes a lot.
I’m not pregnant. I promise.
But there’s been something in the air lately that makes my heart full.
It’s been far from a perfect summer, but it’s been such a good one. It seems that around every turn I’m reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness, His provision, His ability to work powerfully when we just can’t. To Him be the glory.
There’s something beautiful about summer staff dancing, about the way He is calling them to hard things, about the questions they are wrestling with and the decisions that they have to make. There’s something beautiful about seeing them walk boldly, serve sacrificially, laugh heartily. Something beautiful about how they make friends and become role models. Something beautiful about the way the Lord uses camp to change people.
My heart is full.
And I’m a little weepy.
Because God is good.
And every day, I get to be a part of that. And, in the summers, I get to see the goodness more tangibly.
I won’t ever get to be a summer staffer again. My time has passed. But those summers changed me. There’s nothing quite like a night around a campfire, or bunking with 10+ other girls for three months as we learn how to survive together with all of our soaring emotions. There’s nothing quite like the dance parties, the late night conversations, the early morning devotions, the lives that were shared. There’s nothing quite like the campers that have etched themselves onto my heart for this lifetime (like the Hungry Hungry Homies) or David Crowder on repeat for 13 weeks straight. Nothing quite like the evening dips in the Nueces River while we listened to the songs being sung in the pavilion above, or the baptisms we witnessed in the pool, or the nights at Tent City.
That stuff sticks with you.
It changes you.
Because, for whatever reason, God moves at camp.
There are a lot of reasons I’ve stayed in camp ministry full-time- a lot of reasons that, even when I tried to leave, I found myself coming back.
The past few weeks have reminded me that I’m a part of something that is out of this world. Something good. Something powerful. Something life-changing.
I won’t ever get to be a summer staffer again, but I get to be a part of other people taking on the challenge. Other people partaking in the journey that is never what was anticipated, but oftentimes better. Other people proclaiming the Gospel, asking campers hard questions, being a part of new faith in Christ. Other people having a summer that is unforgettable… having a summer where God changes them.
It’s kind of indescribable.
I imagine those people who have done camp know a bit of what I’m talking about.
God is moving here.
I don’t know why, and a lot of times I don’t fully even know how, but I know that He does. That He is.
And maybe that’s where the tears come from.
Maybe this summer it felt unlikely that He would… and maybe I’m just humbled again that He is. That as much as I can recite over and over again that the Gospel is sufficient- I’m seeing that it really, truly is. He is enough. Even if all else fails, even if nothing is perfect or according to plans… He still is. He is doing beautiful things in the hearts of people around me. Young campers, college students, full-time staff, older volunteers, moms and dads, youth pastors. He is changing all of us.
My heart is full.
Because even in the smallest ways, He is moving. Reminding me, constantly, that He is good. He’s got this. He’s got us. He’s making His name known. He is enough.
To Him be the glory.