Posted in Family Life
Psalm 68:6
God sets the lonely in families, but he leads forth the prisoners with singing . . . "
What a beautiful weekend we had at family church camp! This was our first time going, and we weren't sure what to expect. On Friday before we left, my dh called and said we may not be able to go because of some work-related problems which may hold us up. I tried not to get upset, but couldn't help but feel a deep sadness. I called my Mom and we prayed together about the situation. I couldn't pray with hubby like I normally would because he had to get off the phone right away. She prayed that the Lord would make a way and that we would be able to go to church camp as planned, and that God's perfect will would be done and all attacks of the enemy would be thwarted.
Right after I got off the phone, Pure One (our dd) came over to me and showed me her daily Bible reading. I said, "I'm sorry honey but I can't check that right now." I thought she wanted me to double check her work. She continued to hold out her bible in front of me and she pointed to her memory verse for the day from Psalm 4. It was a passage that reminded us to put our faith in the Lord and not in our circumstances. I thought, "Wow, out of the mouth of babes" I was so blessed by her response of faith during a troubling time. She was really looking forward to church camp, and for weeks has been counting down the days. So when she found out we may not be able to go, instead of whining, complaining and moping she responded in faith. It truly touched my heart and lovingly rebuked me at the same time. Oh if I could only respond in all situations with that kind of trust in God. May it be so!
About 30 minutes later Daddy came through the door and told us the good news . . . we were going after all! God worked a miracle in scheduling and finances. Thank you Lord! So that was how our journey began as we left the house. Three hours later we arrived at camp and settled into our room.
Friday night we had dinner and chapel and then headed off to bed. Saturday we awoke early and had a time of devotions by the Lake, then went to breakfast and chapel. All afternoon was fun in the sun and lots of Daddy/Daughter time. Pure One was glowing with joy after getting to spend a whole day with Daddy doing outdoor activities: hiking, paddle boats, swimming, volleyball, etc. Mommy enjoyed the afternoon reading, chatting with other Moms, and getting some good rest. My leg is not yet at its full potential so I was limited with the activities in which I could participate. However, Saturday night was when something extra beautiful happened.
During our chapel service Pastor shared how "God sets the lonely in families." DH and I recently experienced a horrible shunning from people we dearly loved and trusted and because of that we have been deeply wounded. But the Lord, out of His amazing grace, love and tenderness set us in the church we are at right now "for such a time as this." We felt, for the very first time again, a sense of profound love coming from these people, as we allowed our hearts to be open and pliable again to the possibility of church family. We felt God's love permeating every part of our being and letting us know that even though man may have abandoned us, He has never left us nor forsaken us. He brought us this church family to breath new life back into us again. I believe that sermon and time of worship was a major breakthrough for us spiritually. Not only us, but we saw many others experience the same thing as their walls of mistrust and masks of superficiality came tumbling down. So many tears of joy as we all embraced one another and found hope again. Right after that . . . the REAL church family camp began! Everyone began connecting in a deeper way and sharing their real life experiences. In fact, noone wanted to go back to their cabins/rooms because they wanted to linger and stay in one another's presence. It was truly beautiful to see authentic relationships happening.
Sunday, we had breakfast, chapel, family camp picture, and then water baptism's. As we drove home we could feel the peace of the Lord like never before. In fact we hardly talked on our drive home because we just wanted to continue soaking in this place of peace. All I know . . . next year . . . we are going to family camp again! WHOOOOOHOO, GOD IS SO GOOD. Thank you Lord for the work you are doing in us, and thank you for the wonderful new friendships we have made. You have turned our loneliness into new life.
Note: as soon as I get some pictures from the trip I will post them. Our camera broke Friday evening after being dropped :-( .
