As far back as I can remember I’ve spent my Sunday mornings in a church. Whether that be in a large auditorium or in a school gym. I was taught the basics and always knew that God was up there watching over me. I understood and believed all this from a very young age, but I also thought that God was distant.
When I was about 8 years old my older sister convinced me to spend a week at camp with her. Quite honestly, this was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. Being away from my parents in the middle of no where with a scary deep lake and bugs everywhere? No thanks.
But for some reason I went back. The next year was even worse. But I went back again, and again. This year will be my 10th year at camp and 3rd year on staff. Despite all my discomforts and worries, God’s in this place. I’ve seen Him work in incredible ways. There’s nothing like the feeling of His great arms wrapping around you like a warm breeze, under a full sky of stars.
This place was where I first encountered God on a personal level. I was 11 years old and had started to seriously fall in love with camp. It was mid week and worship that morning had been on another level. The speaker had really connected with me. I started to feel something I hadn’t ever before.
He spoke of the widow’s coin and how the coin, though seemingly worthless, was something so radically valuable to the widow that she had spent all her time in search of it until she found it. Through this, our speaker said, God was telling me that I was that valuable to Him. The God of the universe, who had made all the stars, knew every hair on my head. God would never give up on me and would always hold me tight, close to Him. I had tremendous value. I was loved by the Almighty Father.
I still remember leaving the room and walking down to the beach for the next activity and having this feeling of overwhelming love rush over me. I had never felt a love so powerful in my life and I knew that was God drawing me closer to Him. I am His and nothing will ever get in the way of His love for me.
For the rest of the week, the smile that had crept across my face in that moment never left. I had just gained my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. That feeling is irreplaceable.
On the last day, the speaker gave a recap of all the talks we’d had over the week. After he was finished, he handed out a penny to every person in the room who would accept it. each penny had a hole through it and was attached to a piece of string. These were to be reminders of how, like the widow’s coin, we were all loved and valued greatly by God.
To this day, I keep that exact penny on my wrist. I’ve lost it a few times and searched as frantically as the widow to find it. Every time I feel lost or alone it serves as my reminder that my greatest support never has and never will leave my side.
My personal relationship with God has only grown since then and I know I’ll never live without the love He has for me. Through my journey, whether it be here at home or across the world, my mission is to share that same love with others. The love that can move mountains, open hearts, change lives and conquer all. His love is a gift that isn’t to be kept secret but given as freely as it was given to me. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:37-39
