If you had told me two years ago that I would be working at a summer camp for individuals with special needs and falling more in love with these people everyday, I would have laughed in your face. However that statement is true today and I can’t imagine life any differently. Working with these individuals is no walk in the park but it has become my passion and a major source of joy. Over the past year and a half I have learned countless life lessons because of these amazing people and I want to share some of those with you!

1. It's not about you.

Take a deep breath and read that again: It’s not about you. This is really hard for some people to comprehend but it’s true. When I am working at camp, my first priority should not be that I get enough sleep or that my makeup and hair looks good. My number 1 job is to love my camper with an undivided attention. You may be saying “but Michelle I don’t work with people with special needs”. It doesn’t matter. If you consider yourself to be a “good person” than you should be putting others first rather than yourself. That means smiling and conversing with your cashier rather than making sure that they bag your groceries right. That means that your kids/siblings/friends deserve your complete and full attention when talking to you. Specifically for Christ-followers: Christ came to serve not to be served. Therefore as we strive to look more and more like Him, we need to live with an attitude that it is not about you!

2. Be yourself!

I love to see the kids I work with live this out. This summer I worked with a young man named TJ. He is 19 with autism. I doubt that there has ever been a day when TJ has not been TJ. TJ loves Disney movies and giving people hugs. When he meets new people he doesn’t change that, not for anyone. I wish I lived like that. Too many times though, I try to impress people by liking the same things they like or changing the way I laugh so that others do not find it annoying. Why though? Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made”. Stop trying to impress people, life is too short.

3. Forgive and Forget.

My entire life I have heard that when someone does something hurtful toward me that I need to forgive them. And for years I said the words “I forgive you”, however the pain was still there. It wasn’t until I started working at Camp Hawkins that I learned that forgiving isn’t enough. After you forgive (which means to stop feeling angry towards someone) you have to forget. And no, it’s not that easy but LET IT GO. Stop holding grudges. There is nothing you can do to reverse what happened. It’s already done. The best thing you can do it move on and ask God to help you love that person again. I have by no means mastered this, but God is daily molding me to love like He would!

4. Disabilities & labels do NOT define you.

I cannot tell you how aggravating it can be when I hear someone say: “that autistic child” or “those special needs children”. That child HAS autism and those children HAVE special needs. They are not their diagnosis. They are children and real people first and foremost. I don’t know, this may just be me, but if I had cerebral palsy I wouldn’t want people to refer to me as that young cerebral palsy women. That would just be a piece of who I am, not my whole identity. So, in short, talk to and about people like they are actual people, not just statistics and diagnoses. When in doubt, put yourself in their shoes and ask how you would want to be known.

5. Make the most out of life.

Life is short. You are probably tired of hearing this, however it bears much truth. Working with individuals with special needs you learn this very quick. My heart is heavy thinking about the amount of losses Camp Hawkins alone has experienced. The worst part about life being short is that you never know how short it is. If you could know you only had x amount of years left then you would make sure you spent them well. However, we don’t. We think that we are all going to reach 70+ years but the truth is many of us won’t. I say none of this to make anyone feel somber but rather to make you see the importance in making the most of everyday. Travel the world, take your kids to Disney World, eat raw cookie dough, try new things and don’t regret. Life is short, make the most of it.

5. Love and live out the gospel.

This is hard but the most important. Because life is so short, it is vital that we take eternity seriously. You can come up with a thousand excuses on any given day NOT to share the good news of Jesus Christ with someone. However God commands us to do so and that is the ONLY reason we need to share. Working at camp, I sometimes struggle to share the gospel. How do you share with a child who is nonverbal or has the cognitive awareness of a infant? I don’t have the answer to that. However I can say that love does not always require words. Most of my campers do a better job of living out God’s love than I do. They give the best hugs & smiles, they truly care if you are okay and usually love to just be with you. I need to learn a lot from them. A gospel presentation does not have to be something scary and nerve-racking. Simply be yourself, love unconditionally and put yourself last.