Midsummer and all in full swing. The grand kids have already been to church camp. They have been to the ocean. A summer ritual on the eastern shore of Maryland. It is an hour or more drive from here. Vacation Bible school is complete. And the back to school specials are in the stores. Mark leaves for Washington D.C. this Saturday and stays for a week. He will be attending the Young Leaders Conference.
The weather has been warm and we could use a bit more rain but things are growing anyway. Fresh corn from the fields and tomatoes from the garden. Summer is for growing. Gotta make hay while the sun is shining is the saying. And let me tell you the kids are growing too ! They both have grown so much since school got out. This became evident when Mark returned from Jr. high camp this year. It was his first year attending this camp and it was quite a bit different from the kids camp. He had a schedule to follow and was pretty much responsible for his own actions. No counselors twenty four seven, although adult supervision was always close by. He has returned to us, aged. Matured is probably the better choice of words. How quickly that happened.
Talking with him after camp I heard of all the things they did. Games and activities. They listened to worship bands every day. They studied their Bibles and learned verses. Attendees were saved and some baptized. All of this had a positive impact on Mark. He is a serious young man with a quick wit and a sharp mind. All of this is more than just a fun time for him and he gains from the experience. I thought it was this experience that had matured him so. Then he told me another story from camp.
He and Grandma had packed his suitcase for camp. All items had been inventoried and double checked. On the first night when he was ready to shower Mark says he couldn't find clean underwear. And the conversation went something like this;
Grandma, I packed five pair
Mark, I couldn't find them
Grandma, Well they are in there somewhere
Mark, I don't know where
Grandma, what did you do all week
Mark, I took them in the shower with me and washed them every night
Grandma, You did ? And how did you dry them ?
Mark, I just wrung them out real good !
And so that is where the growth really came from. When a man has to wash his own underwear that is constructive growth. Mark is a much calmer kid now, a little subdued and more thoughtful. I can see where that could happen. Taking on the mantle of responsibility. Summer and camp, a time for growing.
The weather has been warm and we could use a bit more rain but things are growing anyway. Fresh corn from the fields and tomatoes from the garden. Summer is for growing. Gotta make hay while the sun is shining is the saying. And let me tell you the kids are growing too ! They both have grown so much since school got out. This became evident when Mark returned from Jr. high camp this year. It was his first year attending this camp and it was quite a bit different from the kids camp. He had a schedule to follow and was pretty much responsible for his own actions. No counselors twenty four seven, although adult supervision was always close by. He has returned to us, aged. Matured is probably the better choice of words. How quickly that happened.
Talking with him after camp I heard of all the things they did. Games and activities. They listened to worship bands every day. They studied their Bibles and learned verses. Attendees were saved and some baptized. All of this had a positive impact on Mark. He is a serious young man with a quick wit and a sharp mind. All of this is more than just a fun time for him and he gains from the experience. I thought it was this experience that had matured him so. Then he told me another story from camp.
He and Grandma had packed his suitcase for camp. All items had been inventoried and double checked. On the first night when he was ready to shower Mark says he couldn't find clean underwear. And the conversation went something like this;
Grandma, I packed five pair
Mark, I couldn't find them
Grandma, Well they are in there somewhere
Mark, I don't know where
Grandma, what did you do all week
Mark, I took them in the shower with me and washed them every night
Grandma, You did ? And how did you dry them ?
Mark, I just wrung them out real good !
And so that is where the growth really came from. When a man has to wash his own underwear that is constructive growth. Mark is a much calmer kid now, a little subdued and more thoughtful. I can see where that could happen. Taking on the mantle of responsibility. Summer and camp, a time for growing.
No comments:
Post a Comment