There has been so much change in the last couple of months its been hard to keep up. The theme of the last few months for me has been goodbye. I participated in the end of my waterpolo career, the end of youth hostel ministry cabinet, the end of classes, the end of my internship with World Relief and the end of college. It was such an odd time for me because I was so sad to leave but I was so ready and excited to the next step. But after being home for a couple of days, I began to realize the value and worth of the community I had been living in. Being home where I have very few friends and not much to do, I have been spending a lot of time shopping at REI, researching the right supplies to take on the race and watching a lot of Netflix! (it’s bad how many shows I’ve seen! But got to do it while I can ;)) Its amazing how quickly I can go from feeling relieved and excited for being at home to bored out of my mind. I found myself day in and day out trying to give myself something to do for a week and I was about ready to pull my head out. This is such a funny turn of events from where I was last month with all I wanted to do was to be home.
But through this boredom, God has shown me the importance of Christian community and the need to build each other up. This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to work up at the summer camp I worked last summer. I had the amazing job of counseling 13-18 year old girls, speaking into their lives, being silly and goofy together but also talking about God and the hard issues we face every day. Though it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, it is also one of the most rewarding things. Every day I mentored these girls, learning about their lives and trying to encourage them in their lives and in their faith. Well, this past memorial weekend I had the opportunity to do this again. I was able to see old colleague and campers, live up at camp again and experience Christian community all over again. This weekend I had a cabin full of 17 & 18 year old girls. Through this week we laughed, cried, played games, talked about hope and forgiveness and just loved on one another. I also had the opportunity to reunite with some amazing friends. We were able to laugh and just encourage each other in our current stage of life. Through this hectic, stressful and crazy weekend, the Lord was able to show me the importance and value of community in my life. This realization has made me even more excited for the race. Through ready blogs and talking to past racers, I have heard a lot about community on the race. Its ups and downs, how challenging but rewarding it is and though I know it is going to be hard, but after leaving my Wheaton community, I can’t wait to experience a new one.
