The Same and the New

I write this morning from the front seat as Scott drives us back to camp after our day off.  I may have mentioned Scott drives home every week on his day off to mow our lawn and about five more in our neighborhood. I try not to come back with him because I’d rather have a beach day or entertain anyone who might visit. 

Yesterday though, Drew and Brittany were an hour away from our house so I tagged along. My radar can detect when any of our kids are within a few hours driving distance. If you do the math, it means  we spent eight hours in the van to see them for three. Totally worth it. What could be better than a double date with your son and daughter-in-law? Loved every minute.

I sit back and marvel at how God writes the story of our lives. When Scott and I were first married he was a youth pastor and we took our students to BBC in Clarks Summit for the Teen Leadership Conference every summer. My favorite speakers were Dwight Peterson and Peggy Walker. Drew and Brittany are at this same conference with their students and they love the same speakers. Amazing. God gives the best gifts.

This week was quite a bit different than the last. As for Scott, he was named Assistant Manager of Guest Services, which among many other things means he now has his own number on the camp radio. I’m not sure why that makes me giggle, but it does.

As for me, I am no longer the Elevator Lady. I’ve been moved to the Front Desk and am learning more of the registering process. I have received varying responses from our summer kids. Everything from “Awww, we’re going to miss you.” To “Good for you!” And “How could you leave us? You’re a traitor.” I miss them too. 

I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet one of the summer staff requirements here at Camp of the Woods is wearing black polos with the camp logo and khaki bottoms every day. Every. day. (Well, except Sunday when we can dress up if we want. Oh yes, I want.) This, of course, underscores another reason why Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

Do you like my uniform shirt model? He kind of likes the repetition because he doesn't have to worry about what to wear. Guys.

One of the perks of my new position is I can wear my own clothes every day. Every. day. (Well, except Saturday which is black polo/khakis for the Front Desk staff but I can live with that.) Can I get a shout?! I'm still doing the happy dance about it!

After eighteen days of wearing the same shirts, when I was given this news it confirmed yet again that Jesus knows me and Jesus loves me. 

This also means I get a whole new group of people to spend my days with, get to know, and learn from as they patiently teach me the ropes of the “main hub” of camp. Not to be confused with the climbing wall ropes. Still not doing that.

Other things I’m no longer doing: sitting in chapel every morning, driving golf carts around and working closely with Scott. We still eat some breakfast and dinner meals together and see each other around, but not nearly as frequently as before. This is taking some getting used to. I've gotten kind of attached to him.

You see these last three years Scott has been home a lot. Times a hundred. More than ever in our twenty five years together. He’s been in my way. Spending too much time in my office if you know what I mean. This was challenging for both of us. He didn’t really want to be home so much and I wanted my space back. I prayed about it often as I feared our relationship would strain under this added pressure. 

Some days were ugly if I’m being honest which was mostly because of my selfishness and unwillingness to be inconvenienced. One might think the best solution would be to go back to the old pattern of my being home every day alone and sending Scott out to work every morning. 

Well that was not God’s plan, at least for this summer. Instead, we are working together each and every day and sharing the same day off. The miracle? We love it. We enjoy being together. We are having so much fun. Who would have imagined? I certainly didn’t.

To my surprise and delight, now that my new responsibilities have taken me to a different location during work hours, we truly do miss one another and try to find ways to run into each other throughout the day.

This is something only God could pull off. He protected us and grew our love during the most difficult stretch of our lives when our human, sinful natures might have despaired and tempted us to turn against each other. It is a tremendous gift. I’m so thankful to Him.

What I know for sure is that we can trust God with our difficulties, friends. I can and you can. I’m learning that even though God didn’t appear to be working in ways I could see Him, He had a firm grasp on everything that concerns us. Reminds me of a song I’ve had on repeat much of this last year:

“You said, You’d never leave or forsake me. When You said, this life is going to shake me and You said, this world is going to bring trouble on my soul, this I know:

When everything falls apart, Your arms hold me together.

When everything falls apart, You’re the only hope for this heart.

When everything falls apart and my strength is gone, I’ll find You mighty and strong.

You keep holding on, You keep holding on.”*

Amen. He's always holding on to me and to you.

Life in our little cabin adds to our adventure too. It’s about the size of a hotel room but with a porch (where you can find me often). One bedroom and a bathroom. Just enough. The other night I was up late reading with my book light on to not disturb Scott’s sleep and a daddy long leg spider crawled across my book. So that was fun. Did you catch the little detail that I was in bed? Yeah. I’m not allowing myself to think any further about that.

One last highlight – because I found some quarters on the floor in the chapel, Scott let me buy popcorn at Monday’s Carnival. I like popcorn. I miss popcorn nights at home. I may or may not have told you that because all of our meals are provided this summer whenever I want to buy any food items Scott usually (except for an occasional ice cream) says, “We aren’t spending money on food.” Some things don't change. So this popcorn was kind of a big deal. The bags were small - I bought two.

Change can be good.

Until next time, enjoy your last full week of July.

*Everything Falls by Fee