I was a bit nervous beforehand. I felt more dread than excitement. I wondered if I would have any friends to talk to. I questioned my ability to socialize and realized that I was not in the mood to be the instigator of friendship because I always am. For once, let someone talk to me, I thought.
My talkative nature overcame any thoughts of being a recluse, however. I was roomed with some people I have known for years and others I had only just met. We swapped stories and laughs and the company was far above what I had hoped it would be. I met people whose names I soon forgot, but whose faces and personalities I will remember for some time. It was fun.
There was more to it than the social aspect, though. It was, after all, a camp I attended with my church. This invariably means that there were one or twenty Jesus moments. The speaker's were great. There was a guy with an Australian accent and a propensity to raise his voice several octaves whenever he got passionate about a subject. There was a lady of many titles (blogger, author, speaker, etc.) who shared a bit about her families journey with ALS that nearly brought me to tears. There was another guy who talked about how we need to have the authority of God in our lives and not just passion for His purpose.
There were so many great moments. One thing that set this camp apart from others I have been to was the impact it had on me. In the past, camps have been about building myself up in my relationship with God. While this camp did that, it more so imparted a compassion and a means of reaching others for Christ. Instead of being solely about building me up, it was about how I can build others up as well. And I think that shows a progression in my walk with Christ. We must be grounded in such a way that we do not erode and need to be tended to each conference or camp; we should already be growing in the sunshine of His Spirit and the rain of His Word so that we can plant other's in faith.
Terrible metaphors aside, I'm glad that I went. It is so fulfilling to have fellowship with other believers and to be loved by God.
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