Hidden Summer Blessings

I was dazed. I had just gotten off the phone with YD and told me I was accepted as a counselor. I went over the call twice in my head to make sure it had actually happened, I laughed. For some reason I couldn't believe that I, Megan, being the crazy sixteen year old that I am, would ever be able to be a counselor. My mom had said pray about it so I did. I felt like God was telling me to turn in the application. I didn't know why, but I turned it in anyways. Not that I didn't want to be a counselor, I wanted to, but I suppose I was just unsure of myself. Maybe I wasn't mature enough to do this. Through lots of prayer I managed to leave it in God's hands as to what my summer would hold. And now I knew.

The last few months before camp passed quickly until three weeks before the pre-camp-excitement started to hit. Yeah I was excited, overly excited, and tremendously nervous. I started thinking about who my co-counselors would be and if I would work well with them. Who would my campers be and would I be able to be a good influence. Yeah I know worrying doesn't do any good but I guess that's something I still need to work on. And all my worrying proved in vain of course because once I arrived it was like all the fear left. Through the counselor orientation and talking to more experienced counselors I was able to say that with God's strength, I could do this.

The starting day of the first week rolled around and with it all the happy campers arrived. My campers didn't arrive till much later because they were coming from the airport. When they did come I was so overwhelmed. In a good way! Through the week the girls became closer to me and my co-counselor to the point we were almost like sisters. It was wonderful! Oh yes and my co-counselor was amazing! Second week was much the same. It was incredible to see these young disciples making life changing decisions for Christ. It brought me to tears several times.

But something that struck my the last night at camp was why God had brought me here. I wanted to kick myself for not realizing it till then. At home I had really been struggling to keep my trust in God. Many things have been happening in my family and it's been really hard to see where God is leading.

Being at camp I had to trust God every moment. It wasn't optional. I had to trust in him to put his words in my mouth, to guide everything I did. God had planted me there at camp as a counselor to get me back on track. The world had threatened to turn me upside down, and when God saw that He came to set me right side up.

I had never seen God work in so many lives as I did this year at camp. I hadn't come to camp expecting to look at it as a mission field. But it is. A huge mission field. You literally are a missionary. Us counselors and staff working overtime for God to bring others to Him. And through that He brings us closer to Him too from what I experienced. I hadn't expected to gain a bigger blessing at camp than when I was a camper. I mean I'm a counselor right, your the one that is supposed to be giving not receiving. But I did receive numerous blessings. I don't think the girls in my unit knew how much I struggle to keep a smile on my face. How hard it was to keep walking up that hill every morning to breakfast. How hard it was to put myself out of my comfort zone every day. But through my girls endless smiles and laughter and God's strong hands they kept me going even when I felt like falling in the dust and crying from mental and physical exhaustion.

Through those hidden blessings I have returned home stronger and more determined than ever to keep trusting in God. I have seen what God can do through me and others when we do trust in Him. And it's powerful. Yes we are just His hands here on earth. But hands can do a lot, a whole lot.