The title of this post is from a very loved song sung at Camp DeSoto, the summer camp I grew up going to and now have the pleasure of returning to as a counselor. It is an all girls, Christian camp in Mentone, Alabama and the best way I can describe how it looks is by referring you back to one of the the Parent Trap movies. Cabins with screened in windows and doors, you walk everywhere, it's pretty hot, and you are lucky if you are in a cabin with 2 fans. It is no country club, but it is the most incredible place on Earth. We wear white on Sundays and nike shorts and t-shirts every other day of the week. No makeup, except when we see Alpine, the brother camp to DeSoto, and snail mail is the only form of communication with the outside world. No electronics at all, especially no cell phones. Growing up my friends thought I was crazy, but I absolutely loved it. The Lord did some amazing things in my life at that place, and He made it very clear this past December that He wanted me to return.
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| Pure Joy |
I am going to be honest, I wasn't really sure I was going to apply, but it only took one day for me to realize the Lord's plans are so much bigger than my own and He has a plan, to give me a
hope and a
future (
Jeremiah 29:11). He had been slowly encouraging me throughout my first semester through some close friends to go back, and He really laid it on my heart to apply when I was spending New Years with my family up in north Georgia. So I sat down in front of the TV, in the midst of all the college bowl games going on, and I filled out the application to be a counselor. I waited a night to send it in because I wanted to make sure it was the Lord wanting me to apply, not just me. I prayed that night that the Lord would make it very clear to me that He wanted me to go back and that night I dreamed about DeSoto the whole time. I woke up the next morning excited about the possibility of getting to go back and I knew it was the Lord drawing me there. So I submitted my application, had my interview, and found out in March that I had been accepted and assigned to be head of Ropes for the summer, a job I am in no way qualified for but beyond thrilled to be asked to do, (and don't worry, I'm getting trained soon!). I am humbled and thrilled to see how the Lord is going to use me there. I know I am going to grow exponentially in my walk with God and I am so pumped to let Him use me. The Holy Spirit is alive and moving at DeSoto and I am excited to be a part of it. I know I am going to be exhausted and broken and overwhelmed at times, but I am going to be in a community where there is time and there are people to encourage and love on me and help me along the way. What I love about DeSoto is that it provides a community for girls to be themselves and it gives them a place to learn what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ looks like, something that I think gets lost in the busyness of our home communities today. So that will be my summer, getting to be up in the trees encouraging girls on the ropes course, and then in the cabin at night with a group of girls that I will get to love on, mentor, and do life with. I.am.PUMPED.
Looking back for a second, 2nd semester ended up being pretty good. I didn't really enjoy any of my classes, so its safe to say I was happy to see those end. I had a bad registration time in the fall and needed to finish up some divisionals, so crummy 2nd semester schedule was how it went down for me. My constant prayer became "Lord, please help me remember that I am working for you and not for men" (
Colossians 3:23), and He answered that prayer in some pretty incredible ways. I was first able to let go of my desire for perfection in the classroom, something He has been breaking me of since high school. I found out right at the end of the semester that I have "severe test anxiety", something we have suspected for a while now but it was finally confirmed. This basically means that I know all the information, but once I get to the test I blank out completely and it is as if I never even went to class, a pretty helpless feeling. I was able to work with some very wise and encouraging people to get things figured out for exams, so thankfully I ended on a high note. Safe to say being an English major should have its perks since we don't really take tests in English classes anymore! I was also able to be there for my friends alot more this semester. Especially after working on the End It Movement team, I realized how good it feels to have your friends support you in things, so I made it my mission to be there for as many friends as I could. I ended up attending so many shows, presentations, and games, I can't even count them. But I had an absolute blast supporting my friends and let me brag for a second and tell you that I have some extremely talented friends. From indoor intramural soccer to soloists in acapella shows to even friends playing on actual athletic teams for Wake, I feel very blessed to know all of these incredible people.
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| My sweet friend after her incredible solo and performance in her acapella group |
Another fun life event that happened this semester was the chance to be pursued by an incredible and Godly man. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not sharing this with you to tell you how great my life is, but instead to encourage anyone out there who may need the little pick me up of hearing how incredible and worth it it is to date another Christian. I was laughing with my mom about how we always say growing up we want to date other Christians, but I didn't realize how attractive that quality really is until a truly Godly man started to pursue me. My friends could tell immediately that this guy was different and as I have learned from my campus minister at Wake and the sermons I have heard in the past on dating and relationships (including Ben Stuart's on Song of Songs- check it out:
http://breakawayministries.org/Resources), you should have a healthy mix of friend's advice and this was the first time in a longgg time I was getting green lights from everyone. I'm not going to get too detailed but if you know me, feel free to ask me about him. He is pretty great. The most important thing to him and about him is that he loves Jesus first and he lives his life in such a way that everyone else knows it too. No matter what happens and what the Lord has in store for us, I am thankful for the healthy way things have developed and the hilarious way the Lord brings people together. God is so good. I am reminded of the quote from
C.S. Lewis: "What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it."
It is my desire to keep this updated while I am at camp but I just do not know what my internet accessibility is going to look like yet. I am so incredibly thankful for each one of you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to keeping y'all posted on the many adventures to come.
