I remember coming to Camp as a teenager. What??? I do! It wasn’t that long ago really.
And upon arrival, almost immediately, my friends and I would begin to size up the other girls.
I knew I was being sized up, as well. Comparing big hair, clothes, suitcases…and, yeah, even the bible covers.
Joy, out the window!
That’s not what it was supposed to be about! I was allowing the enemy to guide my thoughts and actions.
I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it prevented me from building relationships. I am positive of that.
There was one year, when I was turning sixteen, that I actually ‘got it’ and came to camp with a different outlook.
I was seeking God. My family and home were falling apart…AGAIN…and I was moving after camp.
I had not a clue where I was moving when I left for camp, but I knew I would not be in the same house when I returned as when I left.
I was embarrassed and didn’t want anyone to know what was going on in my home life, so I branched out.
Most of the girls who came with my church were chasing the boys from our youth group and the ones at neighboring cabins. And I began taking walks with God.
I ran across a group of young people from a church in the Metroplex area and became fast friends.
I got permission to sit with them at a couple of mealtimes and service times. I even played on their softball team!
When camp was over, I had an address book filled with phone numbers and addresses of awesome people…who lived a world away. At that time, 30 miles was a world away. Everything was long distance, no email yet, no cell phones (can you imagine?!). The speed limit was 55 and my new friends lived about an hour and a half away. I would probably never see these people I had become ONE with at camp.
I went home. Oh joy. And when I went home, I found out the changes had been made…the enemy had done his thing in my family ~ intended hurt, stealing my joy and sparkle…and I would be living temporarily in the METROPLEX AREA!
And GOD had already provided a way for me to go to church, have Christian friends and continue the ONE-ness He created.
That would never have happened if I had walked in to camp comparing myself to others, derailing relationships and chasing things that were not of God.
In order for us to be ONE with anything, we have to be submersed in it!
I apply what I learned that year at camp in my life, still.
I recently read that Comparison is the biggest thief of joy. I believe that!
Stop comparing ~ rejoice!
I am thankful for differences! God has uniquely positioned each of us to become ONE with Him, so He can provide for us. He provides for needs we don’t even know we have!
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:1-4
As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another friend. Proverbs 27:17
