When I think of Training Camp, I am reminded of a story from the last Lord Of The Rings book. The hobbits (Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo) return to the shire only to find that it was taken over by thugs and brutes. Hobbits are very peaceful creatures who do nothing out of the ordinary or anything to disturb the peace. But these four are now battle hardened.
“He cast back his cloak, flashed out his sword, and the silver sable of Gondor gleamed on him as he rode forward.
‘I am a messenger of the King,’ he said, ‘you are speaking to the king’s friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West. You are ruffian and a fool. Down on your knees on the road and ask pardon,'”
Pippin rode towards the battle with power and authority. He knew who he was. He’s the King’s friend. Notice how he didn’t shout, “I think the King knows my name so please just surrender because that would really make my day!” In this scenario, he was still known by the King (maybe) but he wasn’t walking in relationship with him.
Pippin looked his enemy in the eye and charged without fear or hesitation. He had a confidence that only comes from the battlefield.
Training Camp was hard. Many sleepless nights, long hours, cold and wet, we got sick, our faith was tested, and there wasn’t a vending machine in sight for when you just couldn’t take anymore beans and rice. Okay, the last part wasn’t that bad but you can see where I’m going. TC was hard. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
God met us in the hard places. Not just the physical but the emotional and spiritual places as well. I can’t count how many tears where cried over our time there. And I can’t count how many wounds were healed through it.
If we don’t know that God wants to grow us, initiate us, then the testings and challenges begin to feel more like a slap to the face rather than the opportunity to lean on Him. You only grow through challenges and training. We are no different spiritually. Our view of God and life will all change (for the better) if we see challenges and testing not as a hindrance but as a way God is trying to grow us. “Feet wider. Arms up. Sword straighter. No, like this. Again.” If I didn’t know God wanted to grow me through every hard part of Training Camp, I would’ve left thinking He was cruel and didn’t show up when I needed Him. But He was there. He was initiating and growing me when I felt Him and when I didn’t. He still is.
We’re in relationship with the King. A type of relationship that only grows from walking through the good, the bad, and the ugly. No matter where we were coming into Training Camp, we left deeper in our relationship with Him. Some of us, that is where it truly began. We all left shouting, “I am the King’s friend! The King knows my name.”
