A friend of mine had the pleasure of experiencing her first summer as a camp counselor. Now, anyone who knows me at all knows how much my summers at camp have impacted me and helped change me for the better. Camp has become my happy place. It seems like the safest place for me to be one hundred percent myself. I was sharing this with my friend and as I was writing down my experience with transitioning from being at camp to not being at camp I made a connection between camp and God.
Something that I found to be true, after my second summer as a counselor, was that it does not matter what camp you worked at over the summer. Camp people are camp people and we will support each other regardless of which camp you worked at over the summer. Because I found other people who worked at a camp, my transition back into the non-camp world was easier than the first time I had to go through that transition. Well… The family of God is that way too. It does not matter where you are from, children of God will always support each other and create a community wherever we are. There are many verses in the bible about community and how important it is; the ones I shared with my friend are found in Romans.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Romans 15:5-7 ESV
These verses are talking about how we are to welcome one another with love like Christ has welcomed us into the family. I feel like that is exactly how camp people are. Regardless of location, we always welcome others in the camp nation. It’s a common bonding ground. It’s a safe place. It is also a happy place. Just like the family of God, the camp family stretches around the world. Yes, you might have the section that you are closest to, but that does not take away from the fact that we are all family!
Until next time… Kara