I don’t even know how to sum up training camp, honestly. I’ve been trying to write this blog in my head for the last couple days and I just don’t know where to start.
See, the last 8 days have been a complete blur of brokenness, pain, hurt, exhaustion, confusion, anger, tears, renewing, hope, beauty, excitement, healing, joy, pursuit, love.
I think in essence, it all comes down to love.
Every crazy thing the AIM staff threw at us as campers was because they love us and they want us to be as prepared as possible for the World Race. So really, their serving us fish head soup for breakfast was an act of love.
Everything taught to us was out of love. Dr. Ron Walborn brought the main message for the first half of camp, and every single truth presented, as difficult as some of them may have been to swallow, was because he loves us and wants us to live out the fullest calling God has for us.
Every crazy exercise our trainers threw at us was out of love. Forming 8 teams out of 56 people is no easy task. Making those teams cohesive and strong is even more challenging. Every moment of work and prayer involved in this important process was poured out in love.
Every piece of feedback exchanged between squadmates was spoken out of love. Yes, there was difficult stuff that had to be spoken at times, but every word of it was spoken with a desire to build up the person, never to tear down. We are in the business of calling out the best in people, in love.
Every prayer offered up for precious family members was offered up in love. Whether prayers of grieving, healing, joy, forgiveness, receiving, or any other multitude of things you can think of, every person was ready and willing to pray for others. Those prayers were spoken from such a place of love!
In every situation we were placed in, people responded to each other with love. Whether it meant being less comfortable for the night to make others more comfortable, going hungry so others could eat, losing sleep to be with those who needed you, carrying other’s bags, etc, everyone sacrificed in love for their family members.
I could go on and on about every act of love offered up this week. It was completely saturated with it. What better way to speak of a centered-set relationship with Jesus?
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
I have so many examples of the gifts of the Spirit that I can and will share in a later blog, but these mean nothing if presented outside of love, because God is love. Training camp was the experience that it was simply because everyone involved chose to love, and in doing so showed Christ to every person.
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”-1 Corinthians 13:13
