About this time last year, I was kind of hating my life, professionally speaking. Among many contributing factors, was the fact that I was supposed to be getting ready to run a summer camp that I knew NOTHING about and couldn't even fake it with passion or excitement. I had never worked specifically with children with special needs before and I had never felt particularly called to serve that population. I was incredibly overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy (and ignorance, to be honest) and burning the candle at both ends with other work related things that I didn't even want to think about camp.
It wasn't until about week 6 (of 8) that it all finally clicked for me, and as He tends to do, God changed my heart pretty drastically.
It finally hit me just how important the work I was doing was to the families we served. I realized that it really wasn't about having all of the knowledge or skills (which are helpful, yes, but not the most important), but more about learning how to love kids for exactly who they are. It doesn't matter if they might not be able to talk, or if they head butt you right in the chin and you think your jaw is broken, or if you have to chase them across the upper fields while they're stark naked, or if they curse you out using names of foods. It does matter that they are loved and accepted, that we dance and laugh a lot, that we foster friendships, that we help kids discover words, and that we end every single day with the YMCA song.
Needless to say, Camp G.R.A.C.E. has been a pretty important part of my life since then and as this summer is approaching, I am oozing with excitement. I cannot wait to be back into camp mode and spend time with all of my AMAZING kids.
1 comment:
love it. :)
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