How do you put into words 10 days of Love, Laughter and Personal Growth? The answer is you don’t. It’s impossible, well almost, for nothing is impossible with God, so I’m going to try my best to put into words 10 days of Freedom. This is the story of a Girl who changed for the better at a camp in Gainesville Georgia made for change, and challenge.
I started the journey in absolute fear, mostly of the “What ifs”. What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t make any friends? So I had pretty much decided to just stand against the wall and watch everyone else have fun, just as I had done the whole rest of my life. It seemed like the plane flight took 5 min, I got off the flight ready to cry. I had never felt so alone in my life, for the first time I didn’t have anyone I knew waiting for me at baggage claim. Next thing I knew I was on the yellow bus on my way to camp with 4 new friends and a little more faith that I was going to be ok.
As the week progressed I was seeing and experiencing new things every which way I turned. I got to see a squad of 60 people become a family with an amount of Love that I had never felt in my life everyone realized that this kind of love and trust didn’t just happen except with the major power that is God. We were constantly challenged and pushed to remove my baggage that could prevent us from doing are absolute best for God out in the world. As my layers were peeling my heart was becoming whole once again. Until the ultimate, unwanted thing happened. God finally called on my to face a hurt that had been suppressed and forgotten for many years, but in this terrible fear and suppression I found my heart and myself in the lord and experienced and incredible Beauty that no one will ever get to experience in the same way other than me and my savoir. For the first time since I was 16 I was free to love and rejoice for my God was everything and no one else ruled my heart but him. From that point on I found myself trusting in the people around me and knowing that they had my back no matter what.
The worship had become different; God had gifted me with an amazing voice that I had always used for myself. After that day of freedom my voice was fuller and the words of worship that I spoke were meaningful whereas before they were very much empty that I tried to fill with talent instead of purpose and were lifted with Love and Praise for the one who granted me this gift of music.
So where my journey started is also ended back on the plane to San Diego wishing I was still with my squad family and having fun, but we all felt like we were supposed to go back to show the others we love how we had changed and grown in our God. Though the path of camp had ended the ultimate journey had just begun and the great part about this journey is: I don’t know what is going to happen next. It is forever God’s plan not mine.
