To say that Training Camp was all sunshine and rainbows would be misleading. There were moments where all I could think was “what the heck am I doing here, this sucks!” SO in attempt to be completely transparent I’m going to share with you everything I hated about training camp.
- It Rained a LOT.
- My Clothes stunk all the time, even the ones I had yet to wear.
- I had to squat in the woods to use the bathroom even though there were functional toilets yards away.
- I got one shower the entire week.
- My indestructible Chacos broke.
- The Georgia humidity caused everything to remain wet the entire week.
- I had to talk about my feelings.
- I couldn’t stop crying.
- No matter where I went there were always people there.
- There was no schedule; I never knew what was happening next.
- I felt utterly fashionless.
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Romans 8:26-28 MSG)
In every challenge I now see how God was using that very thing to shape and mold me for the upcoming challenges ahead.
- In the rain I saw Gods glory washing over the earth. There was a moment in worship where we all sat silent listening to Gods chorus around us, this was one of the most powerful moments of the week for me.
- My limitations in clothes made me realize that I was blessed to even have dirty clothes to wear. My Bare minimum is a luxury to the many people I will be serving.
- Using the woods rather than the nearby facilities showed me that I am not entitled to the things I like to think I am. Everything that I have is a gift from God.
- Not showering is basically the same lesson as the bathroom but nothing builds community like smelling your friends armpit to check how badly he smells.
- My chacos breaking just plain sucked but I realize that I cannot trust man made things to live up to a Godly standard.
- Weather is unpredictable and being joyful in the midst of it is a choice.
- When people asked me how I was this was an actual question, they wanted to know how I was. This was hard for me to wrap my head around. These strangers love me and want me to succeed.
- Out of my crying and brokenness God began building me up with a new strength and confidence.
- I was never alone! But I have come to realize I never was before either. No matter where I go God is going with me, alone time does not exist.
- In giving up my schedule and expectations for the day I was able to give God free reign to move how ever he wanted to.
- Not having fashionable clothes was a hard one but by far taught me the biggest lesson. My identity should not be in the clothes that I wear. My identity is in Christ alone; there is no trend or style that will make me more complete. Only Jesus can make me the complete and whole person He has destined me to be.
Training Camp is so hard to describe in words. It was a rollercoaster of emotion and often times I found myself wanting to give up. But God is faithful and with every challenge there was a lesson waiting for me on the other end. What challenges are you facing in your life that you want to give up on? Are you willing to sacrifice the lesson God wants to teach you for momentary comfort?
