So I spent the past week in Atlanta, Georgia at my training camp for the World Race! There was so much I learned and so much to tell y’all but I’m going to stick to what I felt was one of the best lessons I was taught there! I bet you can guess what it is!!! Yes, It’s okay to cry in public!!!
I know this may seem miniscule compared to some of the great wonders that God showed me during my week, but I feel as though this was a huge step in my life as I am not much of a crier, as most of you may know! All through out the week our leaders kept reinforcing the concept that we shouldn’t come to training camp with expectations and we shouldn’t enter the race with expectations, we just need to trust in God and let whatever is supposed to happen, happen. Well I full heartedly believed that I didn’t come to training camp with expectations, I was excited to find out what God was going to teach me, show me and all the new great Christian people I was going to meet and make life long friends with. Little did I know that I did come to camp with expectations, and very high ones at that! I expected that God was going to introduce me to a bunch of great people (which He did) and then I would confess to them and God some of my mistakes that I made, along with some of my anger that I kept stored up. Then they would all completely disappear, I would be happy, it would feel like a weight lifted off my shoulders and I would never have to think about them again!
Well seems God has a great sense of humor! Because that is the furthest thing from what actually happened at training camp! Although I did confess a lot of my sins and lifted them up to God and asked for forgiveness, but God showed me it’s not just that easy. He told me that there is a lot of forgiveness I need to ask for and a lot of apologizing I had to do back home. Which obviously brought up a lot of emotions and they aren’t always easy for me to deal with in public. Through my time at training camp, I cried almost everyday! During “one on one’s”, small groups, and larger groups, God in His crazy mysterious ways somehow got me to cry! But it was wonderful being surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ. They showed me comfort and compassion through prayer and Godly advice.
Through all of the tears and sadness at camp, there was really a lot of good that came out of it! I was able to cry in public and not be ashamed of myself, not feel weak and insecure. I always associated crying with a sign of weakness and almost an awkward moment because I didn’t know how to help/comfort people who were crying so I felt like I shouldn’t put others in that situation. But I came to realize that crying is ok, that I shouldn’t feel awkward, and that when I encounter someone who is sad and weeping, the best thing I can do for them is first to pray. I feel as though through this experience I have learned to empathize more with others and to be able to comfort them when needed, to show the same compassion that I would want others to show me if the roles were reversed.
Psalm 119: 76-77
“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.”
