WHAT WOULD DEFINE A SUCCESSFUL SUMMER FOR YOU?
i had no idea how to answer. probably most of us didn't; it's a hard question. but i was surprised at myself because everyone turned and asked me what i thought, since, as i've been reminded too many times, i've been here longer than anyone else and apparently should know everything(sidenote, i hate that) but, i really didn't know.
like with most things though, i started writing, and found i had a lot more thoughts than i would have guessed. only in this case, i drew a little bit too.
we hear all the time about how camp is for the camper. which is all very true. but i think sometimes we hear that statement so much that it can seem like they're trying to tell us that they are the only thing that matters. i've been talking with God a lot about that this week. how do you explain the balance? this is what i figured out. we have four priorities at camp. they work like a funnel.
you start with God.
camp is about God, for God, because of God. yes, we're here for the campers, but if we aren't first focused on God, then anything we do in the name of "camp is for the camper" won't really be for anything. you can do a little bit of good, but you'll be doing it all on your own, and for either your own or someone else's agendas. but when you take your day, your week, your whole summer, and you give it to God. you let HIM be your strength, you start talking to HIM about everything that's wrong instead of to the staff, and you lean on HIM to make everything work, when you take time to rest in him every day, and then...everything else just falls into place(1 john 1:7!). in this order.
now the campers come in. when you're focused on God, you know how best to be what your girls need. you have all the love and joy and compassion that they need and want from you, and all the patience and energy that you need to be able to keep doing that every day(isaiah 40:29!). the girls see God spilling out of you all over the place, and so do...
the staff. yes. we are important. anytime they remind us to focus on the campers, they aren't telling us never to focus on each other. because we need each other. God put all of us together for a reason. we're here to love and encourage and support each other. it is NOT a bad thing to have close friends on staff. not at all. it's hard to stress the "camp is for the camper" deal without making it seem like we're saying we shouldn't think about the other staff at all. if you come to the end of a week, and you've loved on your girls and they all had a great week, but you weren't any help or support to the rest of staff, you haven't had a successful week. (but remember, your priority to the staff goes out in concentric circles too. starting with your own cit/staffer, then your roommate and their staffer, then the rest of your unit, then your "sister" unit, then anyone else) we NEED to be here for each other, but lately we've been leaning on each other in all the wrong ways. more on that later.
even after all this, there's still one other thing you need to take care of.
yes. yourself. you can be pouring all the Jesus in the world into your girls, and be an encouragement to the staff all week long, but if you're not taking care of yourself, then you aren't doing your job right either. if you aren't getting your rest(i know i know. i'm...preaching to the choir is it? or i'll just say it in nonmetaphorical words, i am a HYPOCRITE), then you won't be as effective as God wants you to be. he wants you to rest. he never said you had to knock yourself out and get all drained every day in order to do his work. it's ok to slow down sometimes. we NEED to slow down sometimes.(matthew 11:28, psalm 62:1, mark 6:31, psalm 127:2, hebrews 4:11 etc) and most importantly. have your quiet time. you can be feeding your girls up spiritually all week long, but if you aren't taking time to feed yourself, then you aren't accomplishing half what you could be.
ps, you need to get your ear drops. please, please, please get your ear drops, and go to sleep at night. or else you'll get awful sick and have to leave for three days and it will SUCK.
so. what defines a successful summer? one where those four are in that ideal balance. and notice that as you add a new circle, the circle before it gets bigger. so when you pour into your campers in the right way, it brings you even more to God. and especially this one: when you focus on the staff in the right way, you have even more to give the campers. see?
now. i'm probably about to stomp all over a whole lot of toes. and i know 90% of everyone will hate me after this, but it needs to be said. and i've prayed very very hard about how to say it, so if i hurt anyone, i swear it isn't at all on purpose. i'm not talking down to anyone, i'm not blaming everyone, and i am most definitely not claiming to have been a good example of what i'm about to ramble about(you'll notice that i'm very careful to always say "we", because i am just as guilty[and more so in some ways] as anyone else).
we are a family. whether we want to be or not, we are. we're a dysfunctional family with all kinds of problems, i'll admit, but a family nonetheless. just like in our real families, we don't get to choose who they are. to quote one of my favorite movies ever, "you are born into a family. you do not join them like you do the marines."
we don't have to like each other all the time, but God does say we need to love each other. this is one of my favorite camp-staff-related verses.
"and above all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."-colossians 3:14
hold the phone. i just noticed, "them" is referring to the other 'virtues' paul talked about earlier in the passage, it isn't about the body of Christ. so it isn't quite as perfectly applicable as i thought it was...that's sad. but it's okay, i found another one.
"may they be brought to complete unity, to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."-john 17:23b
see? if we aren't unified, we can't serve the girls the way God wants us to.
and finally, my favorite midsummer verse, that i give to all the staff after this break every year:
"let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the body of believers."-galatians 6:9-10
actually this is just one of my favorite verses period, not just for summer. it's so GOOD. check this stuff out.
--let us not become weary in doing good...
how many of yall are weary? i am.
i have been since the fourth day of staff training. and i know we all were right before we left. we are weary, and it is hurting us. but we are doing good. and that is exactly why satan is attacking us. he's getting us down, and turning us on each other, because we can do so, much, good. we aren't being the best we can, but we can fix it.
--for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
who's wanted to give up at any point this summer? i have.
camp is hard. even in my best summer, it was hard. but big things for God are always hard. we WILL get weary and we WILL want to give up sometimes. but look what happens when we don't? we reap a harvest. in this case, we bless these girls and impact their lives. God will work through us no matter how tired or defeated we are, as long as we trust him to do it. if we're leaning on each other for that strength, he won't use us. yes, it's ok to turn to each other for encouragement, but unless we're ultimately depending on God, we'll fail. God will let one human after another disappoint us until we realize that we're here for him, not for the staff.(i could tell you all kinds of sad stories as to how i learned this. but i promise, the staff can't be why you're here. it won't work.)
also. while it is important for the girls to see us unified, it's not like they come to watch us and learn about how to have good friendships. they come to learn about God and be loved on by us. none of them, not even the acteens, notice or care if we're all in cliques. the campers are not the reason to have or not have close friends on staff.
which brings me to what i promise is my last point...
we haven't been loving each other. we've been tolerating each other if anything, but in a lot of ways we've been downright hateful. i won't give examples, but everyone knows what i'm talking about.
it's ok that we have issues. we're human, and worse, we're girls. of course we're gonna go nuts once a month. it's understandable that conflict is out there, but it is NOT ok that we haven't been handling it the way God tells us to. so, all i will say is this, and if you can't tell it in writing, i am using the very-serious-but-not-yelling tone that i use at lights out when my girls need to LISTEN: if you have a problem with someone, there is NO reason to go and tell half the staff about it, or even just a few people you're close to. it doesn't matter how much you trust them; if they aren't part of the resolution, they don't need to know about it(and the trustworthy ones likely don't want to be hearing it; venting is often just bubble-wrapped gossip.[i use it as my excuse a LOT, but when i think about it, most of the time i really am just gossiping]) because that just makes them part of the problem. if you can't tell the person you have an issue with, my only advice is to get a diary. but don't tell other people. this is not middle school, this is camp la vida. and even though in a way we get to be like kids all summer, we should be able to treat each other like adults, and go straight to the people we need to work things out with.(a second post on this is coming)
ok. *steps off soapbox and re-assumes loving cabin leader tone* that's all. i hope no one hates me, because i love all of yall so much, and i tell people the truth when i love them. that's the only reason i wrote all this. i know we can pull ourselves together and have a great rest of the summer.
and please, please, if you disagree with anything i've said(totally understandable, my feelings won't be hurt), tell me. i hate finding out from other people that i've made someone mad. and i'm sure lots of people will have comments, so come to me. i won't get defensive or start crying or yelling at you, i promise. =]
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