“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
I have never been good at rest. With a life full of opportunities to have fun and find pleasure in what God has made it can be hard to slow down and not do anything for a bit. This past week however was one of the most restful and peaceful weeks I have experienced in a long while. However, before my week of rest set in, I had to go through an amazing week of controlled chaos.
I had been looking forward to my first week as a high school counselor this entire summer and it did not disappoint. The weekend before this high school week I had been preparing spiritually, getting into a mindset of servant leadership, and readying myself to pour into the campers that were coming. And when they came, while I could never be fully ready, God was. This particularly week there was only 2 counselors per guys cabin (as a result of a smaller number of guy campers) which meant more responsibilities along with the upside of deeper relationships/conversations with campers. While the week started off slow, after Tuesday the boys locked in and pushed in all aspects of being a cabin, joining together in unity and lifting each other up into one of the best cabins I’ve ever been a part of. As Friday rolled around and the cabin made its final push towards winning “honor cabin” (best cabin of the week) I stood in such pride and respect for what these boys had accomplished, especially that night when we sealed the deal and won the title of that week’s “honor cabin”. While winning felt good, the real blessing from that week was the awesome gospel conversations I had with several of my campers. I got to hear about the love and grace God had demonstrated in their lives and mentor them towards pursuing Christ more deeply which was such a cool experience. Overall, both spiritually and competitively it was such a rewarding and fulfilling week and I am so grateful to God for letting me be a part of it.
This past week however has been a different story completely as I took my first week off of the summer. Since 50% of my week was spent sleeping in till 2pm I’ll give you a few quick highlights including; competed in a disc golf tournament and getting my 4th ace, watching mission impossible 7, spending time with my family, going on a weekend trip to the lake with my dad, catching up with some friends, late night pickleball games at camp, and watching the extremely heavy movie “The Sound of Freedom”.
“The Sound of Freedom” puts on full display the heinous sin that goes on in this world. It presented a real taste of pain, loss, hopelessness, and brokenness that I’d never really encountered before. As I was considering this movie and its meaning I came to two understandings, one in the future, and one in the present. The understanding in the future being the realization that I am going to experience firsthand this pain and brokenness on a deeper level once I’m overseas. This is something that on one hand I’m kind of bracing myself for but on the other hand I’m also slightly excited. Not to see pain or brokenness but to more deeply internalize the truth that we need Jesus even more in such a broken world. That we are desperate for him, that he is our only hope. The second understanding in the present is that similar to the main character in the movie, God is relentless in his love for us. He sees our broken state, our sin, and he yearns so deeply for us to be with him. Like the main character he chases after us, he calls our name, and all we must do is listen and obey and he will save us from the darkness. We don’t deserve such grace, similar to Noah’s time we are a generation of sinful people. In terms of being sinful not really different from other generations, but the sin in this day and age is a lot more celebrated and on display for all to see. We sin, we chase after all that we want and reject God. We push him away, yet he is full of mercy. His love covers all our sin. After watching the movie, I was just struck by the overwhelming darkness of this world, but it is amazing to consider that even this darkness is drowned out by the seas of God’s mercy and love. What a God we have and what a salvation we get to experience. Super super cool. Basically, in summary two very good weeks and one very great God.
At this point I want to just again thank all those that have continued to give unconditionally including; Herb Williams, Andy R, The Jones Family, The Palakovich Family, Melia Taylor, Anna Gourley, and the two Anonymous donors. It is inspiring to see the generosity that y’all have demonstrated towards me and I can’t thank you guys enough. God bless y’all!
Finally, just a few quick prayer requests for the next few weeks:
- For God to give me the energy both physically and spiritually to finish my last weeks of camp strong.
- For my eyes to continue to be opened to the grace and love of God, and to give thanks for that.
- For all the things that need to happen before I leave in a month, packing, family stuff, ect.
Again, just want to thank everyone that has been reading these and keeping up/encouraging me through this walk of faith, I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing Christian family and to know all you amazing people. Till next time, may God bless you and keep you, and may his face shine upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). Amen.
