I've been going to this place called Camp Tejas with my church since I was 8 years old. I don't know if I ever voiced it, but I was sure by the time I graduated high school that I was done. The Lord has called me back there a few times since I claimed I was "done".
This summer I had the opportunity to take my Young Life kids to camp. To a beautiful camp in Colorado that I've never been to. Just a few months ago I found out that the classes I'm taking in Summer school HAVE to be taken during the time that I would be taking girls to camp because I only have one more semester of school left and the class isn't offered in the fall. I was (and still am) so bummed out, so I was just planning on working the first half of summer and doing my summer school the second half. I came home for a couple weeks and someone asked if I wanted to be a counselor at Camp Tejas this year. I unenthusiastically said I would see if I was working, knowing I would be. Yet again the joke was on me, I ended up having different plans for work and I didn't have to work during camp and they desperately needed more counselors so I signed up.
I got my list of girls, two of them were girls that I had a few years ago - the summer before they started middle school, this summer is the summer before they start high school. God knows I love little details like that. Such important times in anyones life about to move on to a new stage of life. So that was neat, but I didn't know what to expect camp wise, I mean I've been going there forever.. I wasn't expecting anything new.
We went through the first couple days of camp, they were fun and just like I remember, and my girls even poured their sweet hearts out to me and each other which is always moving, but on day 2 my girls and I were talking before our morning service and I heard one of them say "oh we're probably going to cry at the night service tonight so just get ready" - my girls know, they have it down. our night sessions are usually more intense, if one kid starts crying a lot of others will too, just because. but God had something different in mind, He wanted to show my girls that He doesn't have to just move in a night service, He can move at ANY time. we were in for a surprise. we went into our morning service which is usually light hearted and goofy. we're singing worship songs and a few songs in everything goes silent, every instrument stops playing, nobody is talking, coughing or sneezing, the Lord's presence was thick all around us and someone begins to speak in tongues and then one of the students begins to interpret what he's saying. kids were scared, kids were confused, kids were inspired to start asking questions. this was a huge deal, we're a non denominational church - this stuff doesn't really happen often and especially not for these kids. while it revealed some split views among our church members, overall the Lord used that moment for good. my girls came back and asked me about what happened, what it meant and why it happened. once they knew what was going on they weren't scared, they were excited. this moment was something God gave all of us to say "hey, I'm here - and I'm real." and we should believe in Him even without tangible moments like these, but boy what a gift. it became such a special moment shared just between us at camp.
He is doing a new thing in me, and in these kids. The ground is shaking with revival and I am so stoked to see this generation fired up about God and His promises to them.
Gosh, He is so good. When I am faithless He is faithful.
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