This year and in summers past, I worked at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center. I thought my time there would impact me as much as years past. I would have to take more of a leadership role as I was one of the older staff members for the counselors in training position. I even had to show up late due to a final for trigonometry. As I walked up the hill to find my new co-workers, so many thoughts popped into my head. Would they like me? What are they like? Why am I here? All those questions and more swirled around my head.
When I made it and started towards the woods, I looked up. There they were. All sitting in a circle, waiting for the next initiative to start. All of a sudden, I just heard “MIKE!” as one of my oldest friends ran across the field to hug me. All that fear and anxiety left my body. Through all the hard work of cleaning bathrooms, plates, and whatever else they could have us clean, I formed some of the closest friendships I’ve ever made. Through our endless short jokes, to getting “lost” and finding Narnia, playing human battleship and call of duty (with diapers), and just having late night chats with everyone, I had the best weeks of my life up there. God was up there on that hill with all of us. Now, I’m applying to become a counselor. It’s hard to believe I won't clean another toilet or plate in my life there (OK let’s be honest, I probably will), but I will miss the community aspect of it all. The C.I.T. directors became more like parental figures to me, and everyone was like my brother or sister. We were insanely close, and we still are. We’re all in our own homes, some of us are in college, but most are still in high school. The great thing is, I know they're always there.
We may wonder why something happens. I asked myself that question a lot this year. When my long time girlfriend and I broke up, when my ankle snapped in half and I needed surgery, when I missed the entire track season while I recovered, when I applied to Ligonier, and when I lost my grandmother. What I realized this year is that everything happens according to God’s prefect will.
This world around us may seem scary. It may seem like there is no hope for anyone. We have no idea what’s going to happen next. But what we can do is continue on. Live the life God wants us to. Life is too short for us to doubt.
