Bald and Happy

PHOTO: My granddaughter, Zella, standing in Robinson
Creek at camp--God's Country.

THE LULU CHRONICLES

Okay, so I’ve left LuLu again. I know that the cowgirl and Fake Knee are going to be in for a rude awakening when we return to her waiting pedals and bike seat, but trust me; it has been for a good cause.

Sometimes we feel a calling to leave our normal orbit and give ourselves over to something bigger than ourselves. We can get too comfortable with our lives and grow lazy. So, for the past week and a half, my husband and I and our oldest son, Joshua, have been counseling at a Christian youth camp. It’s a camp we’ve been coming to for over twenty years. I mentioned this place before back in June when my family came here for ‘family camp’. Now Gary, Josh and I are back and sharing God’s Country with about a hundred teenagers and thirty other staff members. We’re up at 6:30 a.m. and our heads don’t hit our pillows again until around midnight (which is about the time I’m writing this).

I love this place. When I’m here, I get a glimpse of the me that God sees. For two weeks, I lay down my will and allow God to have His way with me. Campers tug on me, challenge me, exasperate me, and prick my heart into being as close to Christ-likeness as I ever come. I listen to broken hearts, hug sagging shoulders, love up on, and generally ‘parent’ any child who needs it. Here’s a smattering of what I’ve been involved in for the last eight days: I’ve taught a Bible and an Improv class every morning; volunteered to work in the canteen every afternoon; Cheered wildly at “Washer” tournaments (a game where you toss metal washers into a hole. I know, I know, doesn’t sound like much but is); Played Capture the Flag; Became a living, breathing “Snipe” in a snipe hunt; Battled against determined campers in the middle of Robinson Creek over a huge Zorb ball; Was a cheerleader at the staff/camper soccer game (staff won by the way); Sat on a log next to a child and simply listened and then listened some more; and sat under the stars around a campfire every evening as these one hundred children have blended their voices together in the most touching praise songs ever; My reward? After ‘lights out’ for the campers, me and a couple of other counselors sneak down to the creek and plop our weary bottoms down into the middle of the coldest stream of water this side of Alaska. We sit there until the sweat turns to frost. Don’t have a clue what I’m talking about? Can’t relate? Keep reading…

I’m a Christian. And, I’ve made a promise to try and give myself away until as the Skinned Horse said to the Velveteen Rabbit as he was trying to explain what it means to be real. “Being real is when your hair is rubbed off and your eyes have fallen out from being loved.” I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the meaning. If you’re truly being real to the folks around you, there won’t be any part of you that you’ve held back.

I wished I could be myself through God’s heart all year long, but two weeks here may lead to two week there. It’s a start.

I know LuLu misses me, but don’t you think she might be proud of me just a little? If you haven’t totally giving yourself away to another in a long time, I challenge you to try it for a day or an hour very soon. You might be surprised how good you’ll feel bald and loved to pieces.

deb