So I am sure some of you are keen to hear all about my training camp experience, but rather than give a detailed breakdown of all I did, I have decided to share two standout lessons.
Sacrifice – You can’t out give God – sacrifice was a big theme of my time at training camp. As I stepped into the world of community living with J squad, it hit me hard just how much sacrifice that entailed. I realised how comfortable I had become in my individualistic lifestyle, my life being mostly shaped around my needs and what I do or do not what to spend time doing. Put yourself in a community of 50+ people and it becomes a little harder to stick to your preferred routine. Personal space and time was more or less out of the window. At times I desperately craved to be alone and to be able to process my thoughts. During training camp I had to mostly sacrifice this time to make space for things like chatting to my squad mates, taking part in squad exercise, or going to talks, sessions and worship. Whilst that was hard, there were so many good moments that came out of those sacrifices such as opportunities to bless others. Of course I am not called to sacrifice all my personal time over the coming year, but I do believe that God began to show me that each time I answer that little nudge to sacrifice my wants and needs for others, he sees it and he honours it. Because he knows what I need, and he will always meet my needs. So I don’t need to worry about that, if I answer his call to make a sacrifice, he will always give me so much more back. I can never out give God.
Strength – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” – One of the biggest challenges for me at camp was definitely the physical aspect. I didn’t think I was too badly out of shape, but a few days into camp and I was aching everywhere! Before we came to camp we were told we would need to pass a fitness test where we had to hike 5km in under 50 minutes with our packs (around 30/40lbs in weight). Honestly, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not only did I feel myself fighting a physical battle to keep going, but also a spiritual one. As my mind was filled with the lies of the enemy telling me to stop, I had to constantly recite that verse to myself and call upon his strength. Normally we do not find ourselves in a place where we have to rely on God’s strength. Normally we don’t have every drop of our own strength drained from us, but during camp this happened to me. I was so exhausted I felt like I had nothing left to give. But this allowed for Him to step in, to fill me with his strength. It was incredible how in each broken down moment I faced, he was there and pulled me back up. Instead of relying on my own strength and keeping up a facade of being “strong”, I was challenged to expose my weakness. As I face my weakness, God’s power is able to rest on me because true strength is not my own, but His. There is no shame in exposing our weakness if it allows the glory of God to shine through.
There is so much more I could write, so many more little lessons I learnt. Perhaps I will share some of those in another blog if I get the chance. Suffice to say, training camp was probably the most challenging week I’ve ever faced in my life. But instead of trying to hide that, I’m going to admit it was hard, and that I only got through it because God empowered me to do so. All glory be to God who enables us to do the things he calls us to!
