By Korey Breutzmann, Director of Programs
This winter and spring have been an especially fun and awe-filled time in my household. My daughter, Eden, who will be turning two this summer, has taken notice of the wonderful things happening in God’s creation. During the brief time we had snow, she got to build her first snowman and take her first trip down the hill on a sled. When the weather is nice, she gets really excited to go outside and look for birds in our neighborhood or roll the tennis ball down the hill so our dog will go and get it.
While she takes in all these things, seemingly for the first time, she just repeats “Wow!” or “More!” and it gets me thinking about all the campers who get to come to camp and experience their own new things with the
same amazement and thirst for more.
In just a few short days, camp will be filled with the sounds of kids running, laughing, and screaming with joy and excitement. Many of them have never done things like canoeing, climbing a rock wall, or riding a horse. They get to experience all of those things for the first time in their life, and while there is definitely hesitation, there is joy and amazement in what they are doing. For some, it is even deeper than that. This may be the
first time they have the opportunity to hear about Jesus or explore their faith in a safe environment.
Camp is special in that way, and I think of God looking on, just as I do with Eden, with a big smile on my face and love in my heart. It makes me thankful for my own renewed sense of awe and wonder at the simplest things that I sometimes take for granted.
As summer approaches, I hope we can all take time to have that childlike wonder for something in our lives. Take a moment to look around at creation and take notice of the things we often overlook: the stars in the sky, the birds in the air, and the rocks on the ground. May you have the renewed sense of awe and wonder that a camper, or toddler, has in experiencing things for the first time.
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4
