Since camp has ended...
So, this is my first blog post to the CWM blog. I'm super excited about it, and hoping that campers are too. If you are excited, add a comment, respond to a post, let us know what you think, because really, you are who this is for!
It is now 3 months after camp has ended (longer for some of you) and right about now is the time when I start to wonder what happend to the person I said I was at camp. Perhaps he decided to take a vacation, and fly south for the winter months, perhaps he got lost in the busyness of school, or perhaps they never existed. Maybe that's not your experience at all, but if you're anything like me, you're probably wondering those things.
I was one of the Bible instructors at Camp Assiniboia this last summer, and one of the things that I tried to do at the end of each week at camp was let everyone know, staff and campers that although camp is ending, the things that happen at camp don't have to. One of the themes of this blog is "Where you see God?" and I think we can all agree that at camp, its pretty easy or at least easier to see God.
When I was a camper, I saw God in my counselor when they helped resolve conflicts between people in my cabin, I saw God when they shared their stories around a campfire, and most of all I saw God when we would talk together afterward. They showed me that God was with me no matter where I was, that I could pray whenever I wanted to and most of all, that you could be a Christian and still be a really cool guy... but months down the road those lessons, and the friendships and relationships of camp are long gone... which makes me wonder "Where is God?"
As well as being in school, I also lead the youth at my church, Grain of Wheat and every week, we ask our youth that question. Some people see God in nature, a beautiful tree, or their garden... those people sometimes have trouble when winter comes round. Some people see God in their friends, when they feel supported and cared for... they get stuck when their friends seem to be turning their backs on them. Still others see God in music... but what about when the music fades, or you just don't "feel it" anymore. Well, to be quite honest, I don't always know. We all have times when God seems far away and that's normal. In a funny way though, just knowing that is a bit comforting because its hopeful. If we all have times when we feel that God is far away, then we have times when God is close too.
Recently, I've been seeing God in the baby girl that is growing in my wife's body. I am constantly amazed that eventually that thing moving and growing in her is going to be a person some day. It makes me marvel at the mystery of creation. I realize that God is good, and that there's something amazing happening in the world, and it has some special meaning around Christmas time because Christmas is when God came into the world. And the miracle of Jesus coming into the world is made even more incredible by the miracle of my baby coming in April.
So there you have it, I hope I've made you think, and if anything I hope you've said a little "awwwwww" at the cutesy-ness of the last paragraph.
This is John Neufeld, Camp Assiniboia Bible Instructor signing out.
It is now 3 months after camp has ended (longer for some of you) and right about now is the time when I start to wonder what happend to the person I said I was at camp. Perhaps he decided to take a vacation, and fly south for the winter months, perhaps he got lost in the busyness of school, or perhaps they never existed. Maybe that's not your experience at all, but if you're anything like me, you're probably wondering those things.
I was one of the Bible instructors at Camp Assiniboia this last summer, and one of the things that I tried to do at the end of each week at camp was let everyone know, staff and campers that although camp is ending, the things that happen at camp don't have to. One of the themes of this blog is "Where you see God?" and I think we can all agree that at camp, its pretty easy or at least easier to see God.
When I was a camper, I saw God in my counselor when they helped resolve conflicts between people in my cabin, I saw God when they shared their stories around a campfire, and most of all I saw God when we would talk together afterward. They showed me that God was with me no matter where I was, that I could pray whenever I wanted to and most of all, that you could be a Christian and still be a really cool guy... but months down the road those lessons, and the friendships and relationships of camp are long gone... which makes me wonder "Where is God?"
As well as being in school, I also lead the youth at my church, Grain of Wheat and every week, we ask our youth that question. Some people see God in nature, a beautiful tree, or their garden... those people sometimes have trouble when winter comes round. Some people see God in their friends, when they feel supported and cared for... they get stuck when their friends seem to be turning their backs on them. Still others see God in music... but what about when the music fades, or you just don't "feel it" anymore. Well, to be quite honest, I don't always know. We all have times when God seems far away and that's normal. In a funny way though, just knowing that is a bit comforting because its hopeful. If we all have times when we feel that God is far away, then we have times when God is close too.
Recently, I've been seeing God in the baby girl that is growing in my wife's body. I am constantly amazed that eventually that thing moving and growing in her is going to be a person some day. It makes me marvel at the mystery of creation. I realize that God is good, and that there's something amazing happening in the world, and it has some special meaning around Christmas time because Christmas is when God came into the world. And the miracle of Jesus coming into the world is made even more incredible by the miracle of my baby coming in April.
So there you have it, I hope I've made you think, and if anything I hope you've said a little "awwwwww" at the cutesy-ness of the last paragraph.
This is John Neufeld, Camp Assiniboia Bible Instructor signing out.
posted by CwM Summer! at
9:05 AM
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