These past few weeks have changed me in HUGE ways. I have learned over and over again that God’s Grace is absolutely infinite and His intricate designs in our lives unite us all in a way that we could never imagine.

Regardless of if they know it or not, everyone needs someone to minister to them. A caring hand or a gentle word or two can be appreciated by even the most reclusive of human beings.

When someone knows that you genuinely care, it doesn’t matter how long they’ve known you: YOU COULD BE THEIR ONLY FRIEND.

In dealing with people, allotting a certain amount of time for interaction is a delicate process. Delicate in the sense that it is impossible. I recently visited a lady that hadn’t had a visitor in the past year and a half(excluding granddaughter). Imagine all the stories you could store up for a stranger in a year and a half!? We need our neighbors.

Thus the reason planning is futile. But I enjoy order. Scratch that. I THRIVE on order. While this summer has challenged me in many aspects of my life, forcing me to realize that I cannot be in control has been the most difficult pill to swallow. Why I want to be in control is beyond me. Sure everyone is afraid of not knowing what might happen next. But honestly God’s planning is much better than anything I could ever hope to devise.

For the time being I would just like to thank all the wonderful churches that have graced Joshua Youth Camp with their presence this summer!!

I had planned on writing entries on Week 1 and 2 but I will add those on later. Don’t you worry Kevin Eudy, your name will get in here somehow! (Well looky there!)

I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR WEEK 3!!

As I am gathering together specific paperwork necessary for staff training, I have found a request for prayer from the administrative office that I originally overlooked:

“Pray that we’ll be able to do all we want and need to do and do it well. Pray that we’ll be safe on the roads as we travel throughout western North Carolina. Pray that we’ll be able to kleep the stress levels down, and remain sane through the next couple of weeks.”

I pray that everything went according to plan and that the administrative office was successful in achieving every goal they sought to attain. I pray that God is still answering their prayers as the hour draws nearer when all their hard work will be revealed and put to the test with the staff arriving on Friday to begin their training sessions.

One more day and I’ll be joining the rest of the staff as we begin preparing for campers to have a wonderful mountain top experience while being a conduit of God’s love!

My mother handed me a note yesterday that my grandmother had posted on the outside of one of her cabinet’s in her beloved kitchen.

     Do Not Judge Too Hard

Please don’t find fault with the man who limps or stumbles along the road,

Unless you have worn the shoes he wears or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt though hidden away from view,

Or the burden he bears, placed on your back might cause you to stumble too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today unless you have felt the blow that caused his fall,

Or felt the same that only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows that were his,

If dealt to you in the same way and at the same time might cause you to stagger too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins or pelt him with words of stone,

Unless you are sure, yes doubly sure that you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps, if the Tempter’s voice should whisper as soft to you

as it did to him when he went astray,

T’would cause you to falter too.

 

Since I cannot find a record of anyone else writing this poem, I believe Grandma wrote this for herself. My mother found this poem typed on a well-worn piece of paper that showed signs of being stapled and taped many times. Within the text of the poem there are some misspellings and a few crossed-out letters but the words of the poem are clear: judging is futile and detrimental to relationships. I believe Grandma wrote this in order to remind herself on a consistent basis not to judge others, effectively training herself so that it would be second nature.

There are so many things I loved about my grandmother. Her humor, her ever-present smile, and her boundless love for others are just a few qualities that I will never forget about her. But the most pervasive quality of all was her passion for the Lord. Even now, 8 years later, I still find little messages from her on how to increase my faith and have a closer relationship with the Father.

             Erwin McManus’s book Soul Cravings explores the reason why we feel such an innate desire to love people, even though it proves to be difficult sometimes:

Why is it so hard to move from “me” to “us”? In our guts we know we’re not supposed to live simply for ourselves. Even the central character of the LA Riots, Rodney King, asked,  “Can’t we all just get along?” It’s time to recognize the opposite of “me” isn’t “you,” but “we.”

Our need for relationship comes from the core of our being. It would be the greatest of tragedies to sacrifice others in the effort to find ourselves. Our souls crave to belong. The experience of love, though it emanates from God, is not limited to him.

We are created for each other.

We are all far more affected than we would like to admit by the community we are a part of. It is hard to believe in God when our world is deficient in love. It’s just not hat hard to convince people who have been loved deeply and freely that there is a God who also loves them.

While our brains may deny it, our hearts know it: love is proof of God.

The further we move from love, the more distant God becomes. To live without God is to carry a loneliness that goes to the deepest part of our being. There’s an old expression about frigid winters being cold to the bone. Without love we get cold to the bone–cold gets inside you so deep that nothing gets you warm. It’s amazing how the love of just one person can make you warm again. Inside of love there is always a fire burning where we can warm our hands, our hearts, and our souls.

All of us know how cold it is outside. It’s almost unbearable out there. Especially when we’re there alone, isolated, lonely.

You were never meant to be                                              alone.

From the viewpoint of someone who does in fact believe in luck and chance, my track record on paper would make me seem to be a pretty dismal and generally pessimistic person. I rarely pick the right professors to take, hardly ever win board games, and “chances” pass me by frequently. At one time in my life, I thought I could befriend luck for a little while so as to improve the world’s view of me. I thought that if people could see that I actually had it all together and that God was leading me down the right road….(you get the picture).

Needless to say, I had to learn awful fast that God is GOD. When events happen, He has deemed it so. God makes things happen; I just hafta get used to His steering as He drives my life.

As one who is content to be a plebe in the background of a giant task doing the menial grunt work when working for the Lord, I find myself in a leadership position this summer. Don’t get me wrong; I signed up to be a staff member but as a first-year I planned to listen to the superior program coordinator and merrily go about my duties.

If I believed in luck, it would be safe to say that my luck would lead to a phone call from Carolina Cross Connection that said, “Yeah umm, we found a much better person for your job. Sorry!”

Thankfully, I don’t believe in luck; I believe in God and it was God’s will for me to be offered the lead program coordinator position.

Maybe from the world’s view I let chances pass me by. Maybe I should have been better prepared for certain situations throughout my life which could have led me to be more successful. No. I know that God has put me in this situation right now BECAUSE of all my experiences and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me!

                                                                                    Sarah, Me, and Rachel 

Enjoying the last day of Carolina Cross Connection at Camp McCall

Before a new chapter of Carolina Cross Connection begins this

summer, I figured I’d start out remembering previous years.

Camp McCall was a soul-searching interlude between my senior

year of highschool and first year of college. The friendships

cultivated there will continue to enrich my life for years to come.

This picture sums up just how joyous I felt on that day and

explains why I was so anxious to get back to CCC the next

summer! :)