A little over a year ago today I made my very first blog post as I prepared to pack up my life in my little blue trunk and head off to my first summer of camp. This afternoon I pulled that same trunk back out of the attic (though it's not quite so ugly anymore thanks to some finger paint, some sweet friends, and some handprints). I'm stressing over all I've got left to do in the next two days before I head off to camp-- packing, working, phone calls, preparations, writing, decorating... I know this summer is going to be completely different for me than anything I've experienced before and while I confess that I'm nervous, I also have a sense of peace. It's gonna be alright so long as we take it one day at a time. My staff is incredible, my director and partner in crime is unbelievable, and my God is sovereign always. I got to go to sunday school with my parents this morning (a cool experience) and the Lord reminded me of Deuteronomy 8. I think it'll be a constant heartbeat for me this summer-- check it out sometime.
In the mean time, I'm just trying to prepare myself for camp. I'm beyond excited. I'm excited about a lot of things right now. I know a lot of people are waiting to see how I blog this one out and I confess that I'm at a loss for words... last week I got to spend seven wonderful days with my precious boyfriend (yep, I like the way those words sound.) and the Lord showed me so much during that time. We got to go to my beautiful cousin's wedding and spend time with my family, got to spend time with his family and his friends from church, and got to spend a few days soaking in the love of a beautiful family in south Alabama. It was a blessing just to be there. I loved the morning that I got up and walked by the lake spending some sweet time in prayer, only to find out later that Daniel was on the other side of the lake doing exactly the same thing. I loved getting to sit at MC by myself and reflect with God on the last few months of my life. I loved being with the grandparents, loved watching him love on his students, loved laughing with families, loved the fact that we got to speak at church on Wednesday night. It's beautiful to me to get to see the Lord so at work in and through someone, whether he admits it or not. ;) I'll hold off on all the details. There are too many good moments, smiles, and stories to even share. Just trust me, I was pretty sure I was going to wake up from a sweet dream at any given moment. But no, this is real life. Soak in every second of it.
The Wintons. They deserve their own paragraph, if not their own blog post entirely. Spending two days with this family taught me more than I ever would have imagined. Rachel and Randy have four precious and wonderful sons (and one way cute puppy) and it was such a blessing just to go to swim practice and little league games, to run back and forth from school, to go out to eat, to sit and watch tv, and to play in the yard with them. I love what a picture of a Godly family and a Godly marriage they are. Their youngest son, Jonah, has my heart fully and I loved watching them love one another so selflessly. I want a family like that one day-- one that prays together before bed and before school each morning and one that lovingly welcomes others into their home and their lives. They prayed for us before we left town and we got a chance to pray over them as well before we headed out, tears in our eyes as the whole family stood in the driveway and waved to us. My heart melted to hear that Jonah asked where I was the next morning.. The Winton's are family just as Christ designed it to be. Love your family like Christ loves the church. The body of Christ is about love. Love one another. Thanks, guys, for a picture of what that looks like. Praying for them and the rest of our family in Brewton constantly. I can't wait to go back.
I'll sum up my hardly completed thoughts for the day and head back into my multitude of work for camp with this thought: There is no place we can go to escape His love. Ever. And I know what you're thinking... sure, easy for me to say when I sit here talking about how beautiful everything around me is. And that's true-- everything is fantastic here today. Sometimes in life we get a chance to ride around in the sunshine but sometimes we also get to sit together and watch a storm roll through. I've gotten to do both of those recently and if there's anything that the Lord has continually whispered upon my heart, it's that He truly is all we ever need. God provides. Today I felt the Lord compel me to go talk to a man in the restaurant at lunch and I'll just say throw out there that I love that my dad and I were both listening. It's beautiful to see his heart in tune with God's and it was great to see the Lord prompt the both of us into faith together. I walked over to the guy and sat down with more boldness than I knew I had... The point being that I sat and listened to this complete stranger talk about missions and scripture and how the Lord literally provides all we need-- be it food, shelter, encouragement, whatever. Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you. We talked in Sunday school this morning about how it's not really possible to make a sacrifice to the Lord-- it's all His anyway so it's silly to think that I could not allow Him to take ownership of it. Everything is His and I'm doing my best to live with open hands. My sweet friends, after having raised 3 fantastic boys, are about to adopt 2 (maybe 3) orphans from the Ukraine into their family. I love that picture of living selflessly and I pray for the kind of faith their family has. They've always been family to me and I love that after all these years, they're not ready to stop listening to the call the Lord has placed on their lives. Beautiful.
I fully realize how disconnected all these thoughts may seem but for me they are all welling together to become what the Lord is teaching me in my life today. My walk has gotten stronger and my prayer life has soared. I'm far from perfect... I'm far even from good... but I know He is faithful. Always. Bank on that, it's all we've got. "Love us, God, with all You've got-- that's what we're depending on."
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