It’s day 3 of Beach Week and our students are loving it!! Between rec games, volleyball tournaments, pool time and the beach, your students are having the time of their lives while building impactful friendships. On top of all the fun, our amazing team of mentors have also been pouring into these students spiritually to help guide them in growing their foundation with Christ. What an amazing week to be able to grow in friendships AND in their relationship with Christ. Along the way, we’ve been seeing God show our students that there might be things that need to be removed from their lives to honor Him and live out the plan He has for each of them. Whether that be bad influences, habits, laziness, or apathy, many of them are choosing to stand for what is good and get rid of the junk in their lives. Which is amazing because all of us have some things that we can afford to lose.
At Beach Week, we deal with lost items through our lost and found, which gets added to daily. Shoes, towels, hats, and water bottles are constantly pouring in. Now, we know YOUR student would never forget a single thing, and come back with EVERY piece of clothing they left home with. But some students are losing more than just those bad influences and habits. A water bottle from the vending machine, socks with holes in them, or a nearly depleted bottle of sunscreen rarely get claimed- – probably because there is no value in them. We can see that as clearly as our students who lost them can. Afterall, there is no point in seeking out junk.
However, we have seen students come flying in when their favorite hoodie or new pair of sunglasses turn up because there is immense value. What is the most valuable thing you may have misplaced? A wallet, phone or maybe car keys? How long and hard do we search for these items when they go missing? Hours⌠sometimes days! Because we recognize our need and dependence on them.
Jesus summarizes this principle with a parable in Luke 15:8-9 âOr suppose a woman has ten silver coinsand loses one. Doesnât she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, âRejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.ââ There is much rejoicing in my house when I FINALLY find my lost car keys. I call the four people that were helping me look. Such a relief!
Jesus further connects this parable in verse 10, âIn the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.â We can get lost at times, swept up in so many things that we forget our worth and misplace our value. God is searching for us, and our goal is to search after Him. When He finds us, there is MUCH rejoicing. James 4:8 puts it simply, âDraw near to God and He will draw near to you.â. If we humble ourselves, pray and seek after God⌠He will seek after us, and he is MUCH better at finding things than we are.
Our hope is that our students would feel just as lost without Christ as they feel when they are lost without their phones. Our hope is that you as parents would recognize and nurture your sons and daughters to seek out the one thing that has ULTIMATE worth and instill within them their true value. There are so many things pulling at our students and you as their parents away from what Godâs path is. Let us begin today by seeking, in earnest, for the one thing that restores our souls. Letâs begin to pray for our kids that they would search for their ultimate worth in God.
Here are some more pictures from Camp so far: wc.org/bw24teamphotos
