A Shifted Perspective

This past summer I had the opportunity to work at a summer camp as a counselor. I grew up going to summer camp and the week of camp was always one of my very favorite weeks of the year. Camp had given me so much when I was younger, and I always knew that I would love to go back and have the opportunity to make another kid’s camp experience a memorable one. So when I was offered a position to work at a camp in Arkansas for the summer, I was not hesitant in my decision to go. However, the road to get to camp was not as seamless as I thought it would be. We had to figure out how and even if we could have camp during a pandemic. If there’s one thing I learned this summer, it’s that the Lord always provides and he always knows exactly when and where I need help. 

There were many days and even weeks leading up to my departure date when I was certain that there was no way that camp was going to happen. I was frustrated. My freshman year had already ended early due to the pandemic and now it seemed the summer job that I had been looking forward to for months was sure to be canceled as well. To tell the truth, I even began to question the Lord and why He was letting these things happen. I lost faith and wasn't sure what path God was leading me down. But, even before camp began, the Lord provided exactly what I needed when I needed it most. One Sunday morning, my family and I were watching a live-stream of a Sunday service from Transformation Church. The sermon was part of a series titled “Crazy Faith” which was about how God can make things happen that might seem absurd to one person, but can be accounted as his faithfulness to another. Immediately, after we finished watching the sermon, I checked my email and saw that camp had set a start date and that I was to report there at the end of the week. The Lord provides assurance.

While I was at camp, there would be days when I was both mentally exhausted and worn out from my kids or my responsibilities. However, it was always when I was at my weakest state physically that the Lord would send someone my way to bring encouragement, or I would read a passage of scripture that would stick out to me and rejuvenate me for the next day. Most of all, it showed me that the more I leaned into God, the more blessings He provided. The Lord also showed me the importance of community and having friends that will sharpen you. The first week that I was at camp was for staff orientation, which is a time to connect and grow closer with other staff members as well as learn the ropes and prepare for campers. It was during this time that I was able to meet the returning counselors from previous years. Instantly, I looked up to the returning girls, and they poured into me during those first few weeks. Along with the returners, I was able to meet with other first-time staff members and share our first camp experiences and memories together. These people taught me more about others and myself, and they were also the ones I could seek refuge in when I needed to talk out my hard days and laugh about my good ones. The Lord provides community.

Looking back on my experience as a camp counselor, the biggest blessing that the Lord showed me was not the community, or just the fact that we got to go to camp, but once we were at camp, we were able to operate as normal (with buffs, of course) for the entire summer. During the summer months, when Covid-19 was rampant across the country, we were able to stay safe in our little bubble in Mt. Ida, Arkansas. The Lord provided a sense of normalcy for our campers, and we were able to see their tangible JOY as they came into camp on opening day during a summer that many did not believe camp would happen. We were able to see them stay for the whole session and do life alongside them. We were able to have conversations with them where their faith and love for God shone through, strengthening my faith as well. Most of all, we were able to send them back home, healthy and thankful for the time spent together and the new friendships we made. The Lord provides a way.