Lessons from Camp, #1 Lackadaisical!
>> Monday, July 7, 2014
On Wednesday at Special Touch camp, Megan and I did something neither of us had ever done before - we went inner-tubing! Our tubes were tied together and my job was to make sure all went well as we traveled downstream.
The first 3/4 of the ride, we were alone. Some of the group was way ahead of us and some way behind. We were in the middle and enjoying it. Megan splashed water on me and her legs pushed us along faster than the quiet stream. It was relaxing. I laid my head back and enjoyed the scenery.
Sometime in there, the path got rocky and the current swifter. I pulled myself up out of the tube so I could use my legs and arms to push us away from big rocks that peeked up out of the water or when we were close to washing up against the sides of the banks where tree limbs wanted to entangle us.
I enjoyed our ride so much that I got...
- lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy."a lackadaisical defense left the Spurs adrift in the second half"
synonyms: lethargic, apathetic, listless, sluggish, spiritless, passionless;
We were laughing and teasing each other and I forgot I had to watch out for obstacles in our way. Megan was up higher in a float than I was and she was MY responsibility. Because the beginning was so smooth sailing and so much fun, I let my guard down. Very quickly I learned to keep my feet up so they wouldn't get scraped on the creek bed. I watched upstream so I would know which route to go when there were two paths.
But even while watching, I still didn't save us from getting scraped up by limbs that reached out and grabbed us. Rocks stayed hidden until I was right on them. Trust me, it wasn't a smooth ride anymore! I seriously was worried to stand up at the end in case I didn't have a bottom left of my swim suit.When I was worried and working so hard, Meg laughed and splashed. She still enjoyed the ride without fear. That made me feel good. I was creating an experience she would never forget. It also made me think about Jesus and how He took up our sins and died on the cross for us so we could have life after life here on Earth. We can live our lives without fear of what's next. It's covered...and it's wonderful!
I could watch out for Meg fairly well - just one person. At some point, we got ahead of two people. One was a girl in our group, Amanda. She was screaming. I turned around and tried to encourage her to relax and enjoy the ride. While I talked to her, I didn't have my eyes on what was happening in front of us. I quickly found out, I had to not worry about her. I couldn't take care of two guests at that moment. Gayle had Amanda and was doing a great job. I had to keep my focus so Meg and I would stay safe.
It served to remind me how God is so big and how small I am. He watches out for all of us. All the time. His eyes are always on us. He's not inadequate. He is perfect. Unlike me. All week, my job was to look after three young ladies. I loved on them and watched out for them like they were my own. I couldn't let my guard down. I learned more lessons from camp I'll be sharing. I had to lean on God to help me make it through. Not only did we make it through, we had a blast!For all those who gave money or bought supplies to help Megan go to camp, THANK YOU - from Megan, her dad, and myself. Her world got lots bigger and she met others who were just like her. That alone has to be pretty awesome!
