Waiting to Hatch

What I've been learning...

I spent my summer (as I'm sure all of you know) working at Seesalt, which is in my un-biased (hah) opinion the best camp ever. I get to work with great people and some amazing kids. There are several great stories I could tell about this summer, but instead I wanna talk about what I learned. Just in case anyone wants to know and also so I won't forget. So, here goes...

Lesson #1: God is faithful.
Probably the biggest lesson God taught me is that He is faithful. I knew this before the summer, but I don't think I really understood. The first week my group was completely silent. I could not get the to participate, answer questions, laugh, anything. I didn't feel like I could connect with them at all. At some point during the week, I came across Galatians 6:9 which says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." So I decided to not be too disheartened and just keep persevering...and expected that harvest to arrive around Thursday. It didn't arrive on Thursday. Thursday was just as bad as the first day. But then, Friday. My kids started talking and answering questions and actually seemed to be getting something out of what I was saying. I kept trying to do good and God was faithful. And through that, I also realized that His timing is perfect, mine is not. There were so many other little moments when I God just revealed to me his faithfulness. He provided unexplainable comfort exactly when I needed it to get through my day - not when i thought I needed it, but when God knew I needed it. Because of this summer, I know that I'm going to be able to survive college. I'll be honest, I'm somewhat terrified to go to college. But God is faithful, and as long as I keep persevering to do good and follow Him, He's going to achieve what he needs to.

Lesson #2: Only God will satisfy.
I love my friends and family a ton, and I'm fortunate enough to have very dependable family and friends. I try my best to fully depend on God, but unfortunately I fall short a lot. I went on a mission trip during one of our off weeks and it was quite a challenge. I was exhausted, sick, and in charge of a group of high school students that didn't necessarily want a leader. I was sure that I was doing a horrible job despite a lot of effort. One night in chapel I was just asking God over and over to let me know what was wrong with me. I started to pick apart my life, my mind, and my heart. By the end of chapel I had come to the conclusion that I desperately needed God. Not just to eternally save me, but to make me complete, to make me feel whole, to give me peace and comfort. At that point there was no one else on earth that could provide real comfort. I am so incredibly grateful that God brought me to that humbling point that reminded exactly who my Almighty Saviour is. He is everything I need and exactly what I need. Isn't it great that God brings us to where we need to be? Yay for his love! Haha, sorry, I get excited :)

Lesson #3: Love through grace.
The Bible says to love everyone. For so long I've been trying to do that by trying to figure out qualities I like in people and trying to force love that way. (I know I sound like an unloving snob, but I'm just talking about rare cases, not everyone. I really do like and love people usually with ease.) We are supposed to love through grace. God has grace on them just He has grace on me, so how can I not love them? Does that mean I have to perfectly get along with everyone. I don't think so. God gave everyone a unique personality, and it's not realistic to think that they work together perfectly. But it does mean that I need to love. I don't need to cut people down. I don't need to not forgive anyone. It also helps me to love my friends that I'm already close to more. When you love people because of who God is and what He's done and because of who He's created everyone to be, it just make things....kalos...haha, good and beautiful. That's the lesson I'm trying to really put into practice. Because well, faith without action is dead. (James 2:26)


Ok, so there are many other things I learned, but these are probably the 3 main points. Because, well everything works in 3. Haha, that and if anyone has actually made it through all of this, I applaud you and reward you by not writing anymore. Anyway, God's awesome. That's pretty much it.

posted by Shari @ 7:46 AM