CK1 Step Up
I worked for CentriKid camps this past summer and it was a summer of a lifetime for many different reasons. I got home just yesterday and I am already missing my camp friends I made, but as I retell stories to my family about all the adventures that happened, I can't help but think of all the growth that came with it.
Camp was exhausting. We did 9 cycles of camp in 8 weeks and I remember after the first couple of days of camp thinking, "my legs are dead. I no longer have legs." So that was the beginning of physical exhaustion but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally I was ready to go. I wanted to do everything I could to help set up camp. It was like Christmas morning. And then we got our first round of campers and my world was rocked. That week was my first week as a staffer and I experienced the highs and lows of it. I had begun to feel a little of the fatigue that comes with being a staffer, as I already said, but the others started kicking in as well. By the end of a first incredible week of camp, emotionally, I. was. drained.
I had had a kid to pour into that week and she had an incredibly hard story, but she was a crazy awesome and encouraging and compassionate kid. As she and the rest of my church group pulled out and left camp that week, I remember going back to my bible study room and just crying huge crocodile tears over her. I prayed harder for her than I had ever prayed before. I cried harder than I had cried in a while. And then finally, I just had to lay her down at the Lord's feet and rest assured that He was going to carry her. I thought that that was how my summer was going to go. Love a kid or two so hard and then watch them leave week after week, only able to pray over them. But God had other plans in mind.
It was hard to love on kids week after week and then pray over them from afar, but God really toughened me up emotionally and I was able to do just that. A lot of these kids come from broken homes or are just really broken kids and us loving on them as Jesus would may be some of the only stability and encouragement some of them get. Emotionally, He had to toughen me up because I would have been a basket-case with every hard story I encountered. So, the Lord grew me in that way, first and foremost. He taught me to love hard but also to let go.
Spiritually, camp can go either way. You either feel spiritually fed and revived or semi-drained. There were some mornings that digging into God's word and praying were very hard things to do. Some mornings I was just too physically exhausted to even close my eyes when I prayed for fear of falling asleep. But each day God opened my eyes to something new, either in His word or in my surroundings. There were many days, especially at our first location in NC, where I was drained and then an encouraging story would be told or something would happen where I could just stand there and say, "wow. Look at God." There were days when I was drained and had to completely rely on him for any strength at all. We were constantly on the move, or jumping, or talking, or cheering and even those little things I had to rely on him for strength so I could do them well.
But I learned that when I rely on His strength and patience alone, I am full. He takes the little I have to offer and multiplies it in big ways. I preached that to my kids all summer long, if you even give God a little- if you're giving with the right heart- He's going to bless it. I just had to remember that too sometimes. And that is something, looking back now, that I think he did a lot. And even on days when I wasn't giving with the right heart.
Mentally and physically, you had to break through the roadblocks every morning. Some days, my body just didn't want to jump or dance or smile, but I did anyway. Because mentally, I had to remember, these kids need to know who Jesus is and why He loves them so much and I can help teach them about Him. And once I pep-talked myself and reminded myself that it wasn't for me but it was for them, "magically", my legs and excitement would be renewed and another day would ensue.
Camp was not easy. Camp was draining. But camp was rewarding. Camp was intentional. Camp was well-done. CK1 alone reached over 5300 people. That's 5300 people who know more about Jesus and that's what matters most.
Camp was exhausting. We did 9 cycles of camp in 8 weeks and I remember after the first couple of days of camp thinking, "my legs are dead. I no longer have legs." So that was the beginning of physical exhaustion but mentally, spiritually, and emotionally I was ready to go. I wanted to do everything I could to help set up camp. It was like Christmas morning. And then we got our first round of campers and my world was rocked. That week was my first week as a staffer and I experienced the highs and lows of it. I had begun to feel a little of the fatigue that comes with being a staffer, as I already said, but the others started kicking in as well. By the end of a first incredible week of camp, emotionally, I. was. drained.
I had had a kid to pour into that week and she had an incredibly hard story, but she was a crazy awesome and encouraging and compassionate kid. As she and the rest of my church group pulled out and left camp that week, I remember going back to my bible study room and just crying huge crocodile tears over her. I prayed harder for her than I had ever prayed before. I cried harder than I had cried in a while. And then finally, I just had to lay her down at the Lord's feet and rest assured that He was going to carry her. I thought that that was how my summer was going to go. Love a kid or two so hard and then watch them leave week after week, only able to pray over them. But God had other plans in mind.
It was hard to love on kids week after week and then pray over them from afar, but God really toughened me up emotionally and I was able to do just that. A lot of these kids come from broken homes or are just really broken kids and us loving on them as Jesus would may be some of the only stability and encouragement some of them get. Emotionally, He had to toughen me up because I would have been a basket-case with every hard story I encountered. So, the Lord grew me in that way, first and foremost. He taught me to love hard but also to let go.
Spiritually, camp can go either way. You either feel spiritually fed and revived or semi-drained. There were some mornings that digging into God's word and praying were very hard things to do. Some mornings I was just too physically exhausted to even close my eyes when I prayed for fear of falling asleep. But each day God opened my eyes to something new, either in His word or in my surroundings. There were many days, especially at our first location in NC, where I was drained and then an encouraging story would be told or something would happen where I could just stand there and say, "wow. Look at God." There were days when I was drained and had to completely rely on him for any strength at all. We were constantly on the move, or jumping, or talking, or cheering and even those little things I had to rely on him for strength so I could do them well.
But I learned that when I rely on His strength and patience alone, I am full. He takes the little I have to offer and multiplies it in big ways. I preached that to my kids all summer long, if you even give God a little- if you're giving with the right heart- He's going to bless it. I just had to remember that too sometimes. And that is something, looking back now, that I think he did a lot. And even on days when I wasn't giving with the right heart.
Mentally and physically, you had to break through the roadblocks every morning. Some days, my body just didn't want to jump or dance or smile, but I did anyway. Because mentally, I had to remember, these kids need to know who Jesus is and why He loves them so much and I can help teach them about Him. And once I pep-talked myself and reminded myself that it wasn't for me but it was for them, "magically", my legs and excitement would be renewed and another day would ensue.
Camp was not easy. Camp was draining. But camp was rewarding. Camp was intentional. Camp was well-done. CK1 alone reached over 5300 people. That's 5300 people who know more about Jesus and that's what matters most.
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