Saturday we had our Annual Field Day at the camp and it was wonderful. Attendance was down from what we usually run but we had a good crowd and a great day. In total for the weekend we had 36. But, we are learning that success is not always in the numbers.
We had a local praise team come and do our music this year, and they did an amazing job. Bro. John Staszesfski (Our unofficial camp pastor) brought the word at lunch. And we were blessed with a local pastor and one of our board members, Bro. James Edwards cooking a whole hog for lunch. It was a wonderful time of fun and fellowship and we thank all who got to come out and spend time with us.
We kicked off a little late and separated the kids to go to the different stations. We only had about 3 groups and one of those were the youngest kids that wanted to play in the Bouncy Castle all day. The other two groups had a good time shooting skeet, working at archery, and practicing their aim with a 22. It was just a good day all around, no matter the weather.
The best part of the weekend for me was the message, and although Bro. John did an amazing job when he spoke, that is not the message I’m talking about this time. When the praise team started singing their first song, probably half way through it Ariel sang about “Seasons”. And that is when I felt God really begin to speak to me, and this is where the blog really begins.
Everything goes through different seasons. Whether it’s the world around us, us personally, a business, or a ministry. I am definitely finding the ministry beginning a new season, and I believe a lot of growth is happening whether it’s visible to the naked eye or not.
When I think of seasons Spring has always been my favorite. Not just because of the weather, but more because of the new growth of everything around us. The flowers booming, and the fruit trees budding. When we have a garden we get the feeling of accomplishment when we put seeds in the ground and see them sprout. It’s just an amazing time in the world, you have a lot of new birth. With eggs hatching and caterpillars changing to butterflies. It’s absolutely beautiful to see everything turn from the drab winter months to the colorful spring. The reality is, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the warmth and beauty of spring, without those bleak winter months. And to be truthful, there is beauty in winter. When we get that one snowfall once every five or ten years and it looks like the world is washed white and new. That’s one thing we don’t usually think about when we are thinking of our the seasons our spirits are in. Sometimes we fail to see the beauty in the season that we are in. It’s easy when we are in a growing season, when we see fruit all around us and we don’t struggle to find joy. But, when we are in a hard season, and it seems like we won’t ever see the light at the end of the tunnel, well that’s when it’s tough to find joy. When church numbers are down, or you’re just to sick to get out of bed, when death has taken a loved one, or a loved one has moved and we just don’t get to spend time with them like we used to.
