I woke up Saturday morning and thought everything was a dream. Everything that I could remember seemed so unbelievable and too amazing to really have happened. God worked and moved. We saw Jesus more clearly not only in our own lives but, as each week progressed, God let us all see Jesus taking his place in the hearts of so many campers. Together, every week with them, we laughed, danced, sang, praised, and prayed. We sat and listened as lives were poured out, walls were torn down, and masks were pulled away. We saw God's Love shine into the darkest corners and deepest recesses of hearts... even our own. Together we shed tears, sweat and blood. Sometimes we got frustrated when a stake wouldn't stick or when we missed up a meal. At times, we struggled to lift our own heads as we tried to lift the heads of others. Some mornings, we wanted to do anything but crawl out of our sleeping bags and tiptoe downstairs to start a quiet time. Securing ourselves on our knees and face to the ground, we laid everything at the foot of the cross and He renewed our spirits everyday. When we were met with overwhelming questions we couldn't answer and it made it so hard to believe and carry on, He met us where we were and showed his nail scarred hands. When we didn't want to wash anymore dishes, cook another meal, or clean the Mikey again, He humbled himself to humble us by taking off his robe, kneeling down and wrapping a towel around his waist so that he could wash our feet. And on every Saturday morning, we would round off every week by letting them go, never knowing the full impact of our service but trusting that God would go with them and continue the good work he started until it was finished.
It was all way too good to believe. It had to be a dream. In the reality most of the world lives in, everything that happened was unreal. It was amazing! Well beyond what we can ever put to words. But that's who He is.
Today a friend sent me a text that said:
HOW AMAZING IS IT THAT WE WORSHIP A GOD THAT WE CAN'T EXAGGERATE?!
He's the BEST! NO FOOLIN'! No one is greater.
Now that we are all back home, remembering, receiving, and acting in that knowledge will be so much harder as we don't have the immediate fellowship we've been used to. That coupled with the constant distractions of our daily routine, it will become easier to fall into the temptation to believe what happened this summer was just a dream or a distant memory. In the noise of everything else going in our lives, what once was a mighty roar of confidence can become a whisper.
I know I don't want to forget or lose sight of the things I learned this summer. I prayed to be broken and God took that as consent to constantly nun-chuck me in the face with grace.
Like we encourage our campies at the end of the every week: THIS IS NOT THE END TO ANYTHING!
We are still one body in Christ and we are here to hold each other accountable to that. The world kept spinning while we were away and God has placed us where we are to love and serve in the same way we aspired to do on the water. Our motives were to glorify our Lord with every action. We've been placed where we are to befriend, encourage, model and challenge EVERYONE we can! In that way, we live in the command to love as He has loved us. Our validation is in Him alone. We will strive to bring out the best in others, even if it means looking completely ridiculous in the attempt to do so. It's not about us! We've already died to ourselves. In that death is freedom and in that freedom is everlasting joy.
That's the truth I've learned and that's the truth I'm going to challenge myself to cling to and live in despite whatever circumstances. It's daunting to think about, but God has delivered us each other to stand strong together as we did this summer.
For whoever wants to continue on our journey together, we'll be starting a new devo blog that starts next Monday. We're going to be going through the I AM Statements together and I'm so excited to hear from all of you again! Micaela is setting it up, so it should be great. If you'd like to join us, leave your email address in a comment box. YAAAAAY!!! :D I love you all and miss you so much.
