When I originally started this series, back in August, I didn’t imagine that it would carry all the way into Christmas, but the more I wrote, the more I realized that I had so many lessons that I learned this summer. From seeing the perspectives of the different campers I encountered, watching my friends and coworkers serve the Lord, and learning from my own mistakes as a counselor, so much has happened, and I’ve learned to be grateful for it all. Writing these experiences down gives me time to reflect on it, and allows me to keep it for years to come, when I can reflect on this season of my life.
Now, I promise that this is the very last part of the series, and I am hoping that soon, I will do a series similar to the church series in the spring, which involves more research than reflection. However, this last topic is something that I had to learn every single day when I was a camp counselor, and really helped me understand what it meant to be a servant of God.
Oftentimes, this camp refers to working there as “the hardest job you’ll ever love”. It always made sense to me, but I didn’t truly understand it until I worked there. Being a counselor is amazing, and it is such a blessing to be able to love on so many beautiful people, but that doesn’t make it any less hard. In those two months, all of my focus went on my campers, whether it was keeping them entertained, making sure they were eating something besides Nerd’s Gummy Clusters, and spending one-on-one time with them to show them that they are loved and valued. This gave me little to no time to do something for myself, which is something that I’m really not used to. Don’t get me wrong, life has been busy before, but being a camp counselor is on a whole different level. The free time that I get is any time before 7 am, my 90-minute break, and late at night after every camper is asleep. And trust me, that time is always spent sleeping, reading my Bible, or catching up on any other part of the rest of my life.
With all of this combined, I began realizing that I was in a nonstop fight between my spirit and my flesh. Any moment I found a quick respite in the crazy day, I wanted to sit down and take a break, to finally take a moment to myself. I desperately wanted to rest and simply watch the campers instead of jumping in with them. But, as we all know too well, the Holy Spirit can get on our nerves when it’s right. In those moments, I could see God giving me an opportunity to jump in a game of gaga ball, to tell a riddle that would stop them from getting bored in between activities, or to sit down beside a camper and get to know them. In these moments, I had to face reality with what it meant to be a servant of the Lord. In life, we are faced with countless options. Each of these options allow us to either do something to glorify God, or to be selfish and gratify our own desires.
I don’t even think that I can explain how difficult this was. There were so many times where I let these opportunities slide, and those extra five minutes or relaxing definitely wouldn’t have compared to the fun my campers would have had if I taught them a crazy game that taught them to bond. However, when I was able to step up and take the opportunity, I ended up having so much fun and really got to connect with the campers.
Once camp ended at the end of the summer, I was so excited to finally stop focusing on others and to take time for myself. So imagine my surprise when I realized that this is what we as Christians are called to do every day of our lives!
Of course, camp life and real life are two very different things. It is unrealistic to expect that the only responsibilities that you have in life are to hang out with a bunch of campers. However, fighting the flesh is something that exists in every part of our lives. It is waking up early to read your Bible, even though you really want those extra ten minutes. It is writing a card for somebody instead of sitting down to scroll. And, it is even taking time to pray instead of listening to music on the way to class. Saying that I am good at any of these would be a flat-out lie; I struggle so much with how I spend my time. However, our relationship with God isn’t just about the “big moments”, but instead about the small decisions that we have to make every day.
If I am being honest, I have struggled with this so much. I have wasted so much of my life doing things that don’t truly matter, and I have missed so many moments to show others that they are dearly loved and known. Looking back at what all I’ve learned this summer, though, is helping to remind me today about all of the little things I do. Christmas can be a crazy season, but especially because of my break between semesters, I know that I have time to glorify God instead of sitting on the couch scrolling on social media.
So, if you want to join this challenge of fighting the flesh with me, shoot me a text and let’s become accountability buddies! Having someone that knows your goals and will check up on you really helps you stay on track.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure as I looked back on the wildest two months of my life. Being a camp counselor was such a blessing, and even though I don’t know what the future holds for me, I met so many amazing people, and learned so many beautiful lessons in that season. If any of you have been considering serving at a summer camp, I would absolutely love to talk about it with you! Thank you to everyone that was with me during this wild summer; your support and love means the world! So grateful for God’s providence in this season!
Comments