When your team spends 5 days around 41 teenagers, one of you is bound to get sick. I happened to be the chosen one this time around, and came out of camp week with a cold. It started out slow, but by the time I got to church Sunday night, I felt awful. I was waiting and waiting for the service to be over so I could go upstairs and lay down. Finally, the moment came and I was about to head up when the teenagers all invited us to go to City Center with them. I wanted to go so badly, but my body was begging for rest. I told the teens I couldn’t come, and made my way upstairs, sad I was missing out and was probably going to be left alone.
Upstairs, my teammates were scrambling to gather their things for the spontaneous night out. I slowly made my war over to my bed when one of my teammates asked if I wanted someone to stay with me. I wanted someone to stay, but I also didn’t want to ruin someone’s chance at fun for the night, so I said no. That’s when my teammate Gracie looked me in the eye and said, “Emily, if you need someone to stay with you, I will.” I broke down and nodded in agreement, realizing that my stubborn pride almost made me resist the one thing that would have given me peace in that moment. Gracie stayed with me, gave me food and medicine, and showed me her favorite movie. What could have been a night of me wallowing in self-pity became a night of sweet communion and rest with a teammate, and I woke up feeling so refreshed the next day.
These sweet girls took us all over their city on Tuesday.
I think I look at God the same way. My stubborn pride refuses to let me rest with Him. I’m determined to finish everything on my own, to meet God where He is, but that’s not what God is like. He meets us in our brokenness and our failures. He knows exactly what we need, even when we’re too prideful to admit it. He looks us in the eye and says, “I will stay with you, Child. I am what you need.” Then we can rest in his sweet communion, waking refreshed in what he has done.
