For me, summer and camp are synonymous words. When camp ends, summer ends, though the calendar does not think summer is officially over for another month. It has never been an easy time for me, this camp-to-the-part-of-the-year-that-is-not-camp transition. Maybe it’s because camp is impossibly fun. There’s hardly a minute that isn’t filled with a new skill being learned, a silly song floating through the air, or a ridiculous and hilarious costume running through camp with an equally hilarious human (small or large) underneath.
I think actually the reason the transition is hard is because being at camp all summer is spiritually like having one of those mountain top retreat or mission trip experiences. Being surrounded by people who love God and who selflessly serve others is like getting a glimpse into what fellowship in Heaven must be like.
Since I’m grudgingly in this transition time right now, I’ve been doing some thinking about what I can do in my own family and circle of relationships to keep a bit of camp going this year. I can’t control what others do or say, but I can serve them, as God calls me to do. I can even choose to do it with a good attitude. I can encourage others. I can post Ephesians 4:29 on my mirror, refrigerator, and dashboard, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Perhaps reading it so many times a day will make it become a part of who I am. There are practical steps I can take to make my fellowship with God, others, and particularly my own husband and kids, sweet this year.
What can you do over the next nine months to keep camp going in your home?