Interesting Creator
It’s funny how God works isn’t it?
CYC Girls and Boys Camps are coming up these school holidays…right before Easter. Last year’s Girls Camp was an experience for me that I’d never trade.
I wanted to lead on this camp, but I was also quite nervous leading up to the camp…because I knew nobody, I had emailed the loveable Heidi often, but never met anybody. I wanted the challenge of being in an unfamiliar environment, leading on a camp that I’d never led on before, being in a place I’d never been before. I’m pretty certain that last year was the first time that they had camps where they separated the guys and the girls, so I wasn’t ‘entirely’ new.
I arrived and I met Candice, it was like an instant connection, we ended up rooming together. The whole journey to the Island I felt at peace and comforted, I got lost and I stressed a little, but soon realised that to react in that way was stupid. It was a strange feeling, because I’m usually quite self-conscious of going somewhere that I know nobody. It was kind of encouraging meeting some of the other leaders, Baz had led on a Junior Teen Camp the year before and then taken me to a Metro Night (pre-"Baz/Naomi") and a few of the girls just said, 'Oh you're Naomi! I love Barry!' Haha. It was funny :)
I met the girls in my cabin and they were amazing. I still talk to some of them now. It was a real privilege to be a part of their lives. I enjoyed sharing with them, and they with me. I was encouraged when they wanted to pray together as a group and even more encouraged when one girl said she ‘didn’t know how’. It gave me the opportunity to speak out and say how simple it actually is, and it enabled me to remind myself of the simplicity that a prayer can be.
Once it was over, I was very excited and I couldn’t wait to lead on the next Girls Camp. I was hoping I could bank up some leave for then, as last year I had to take unpaid leave. I got the mail and the dates were 5-9th April.
I’ve been trying to organise a team for Run for the Kids for 2 years now, we finally got a team together, and I’d just entered the team the day or two before…and the date of the run was on April 5th. The day after another wedding celebration.
I was excited and disappointed. Part of the journey is meeting these girls right at the beginning and experiencing everything with them. I was a little unsure about what to do, whether to push it if I was just doing it for me, because I wanted to. We prayed about it at YABS a couple of weeks in a row.
I saw Jae and Jas at an engagement party and was talking to them about the whole situation, wondering how I could make it possible and whether they wanted me to lead or not. Next thing I got a message from Kat to ask if I was interested in leading. I told her my dilemma. She ensured me it was fine if I could come from Monday-Thursday and she could handle the Sunday night.
THIS IS AMAZING! I was trying to figure out how I could do the run and come back and lead that night and rah, rah, rah…but have my car and not etc. And out of the blue it is sorted and stress free. I asked for those couple of days off work and it was easily arranged. I am so excited to be able to lead on Girls Camp again. I pray that it will be an amazing experience and the girls will learn how important they are and how precious they are. It’s going to be great.
In another round-about-this-is-how-God-works way, Baz has found that he is also available to lead on the boys camp held at Forest Edge the same time. He too, was wondering about his leave, not realising that it was ‘during’ Easter. I am excited for us both, and I hope that he has the opportunity to connect with the boys again if he is needed to lead. It would be great.
God works in a way that we don’t understand or don’t realise until we go back and connect the dots, just as I have. I often don’t realise that God answers prayers. But I’m learning to look back at things, see what I’ve prayed for or about and see what things God has done or hasn’t done in those areas. I’m learning to appreciate prayer a lot more. And I’m excited!
God has also been at work in Baz’s decisions about his house! But that story can be another time, it’s just another situation at which I can go back and see what God’s doing.
CYC Girls and Boys Camps are coming up these school holidays…right before Easter. Last year’s Girls Camp was an experience for me that I’d never trade.
I wanted to lead on this camp, but I was also quite nervous leading up to the camp…because I knew nobody, I had emailed the loveable Heidi often, but never met anybody. I wanted the challenge of being in an unfamiliar environment, leading on a camp that I’d never led on before, being in a place I’d never been before. I’m pretty certain that last year was the first time that they had camps where they separated the guys and the girls, so I wasn’t ‘entirely’ new.
I arrived and I met Candice, it was like an instant connection, we ended up rooming together. The whole journey to the Island I felt at peace and comforted, I got lost and I stressed a little, but soon realised that to react in that way was stupid. It was a strange feeling, because I’m usually quite self-conscious of going somewhere that I know nobody. It was kind of encouraging meeting some of the other leaders, Baz had led on a Junior Teen Camp the year before and then taken me to a Metro Night (pre-"Baz/Naomi") and a few of the girls just said, 'Oh you're Naomi! I love Barry!' Haha. It was funny :)
I met the girls in my cabin and they were amazing. I still talk to some of them now. It was a real privilege to be a part of their lives. I enjoyed sharing with them, and they with me. I was encouraged when they wanted to pray together as a group and even more encouraged when one girl said she ‘didn’t know how’. It gave me the opportunity to speak out and say how simple it actually is, and it enabled me to remind myself of the simplicity that a prayer can be.
Once it was over, I was very excited and I couldn’t wait to lead on the next Girls Camp. I was hoping I could bank up some leave for then, as last year I had to take unpaid leave. I got the mail and the dates were 5-9th April.
I’ve been trying to organise a team for Run for the Kids for 2 years now, we finally got a team together, and I’d just entered the team the day or two before…and the date of the run was on April 5th. The day after another wedding celebration.
I was excited and disappointed. Part of the journey is meeting these girls right at the beginning and experiencing everything with them. I was a little unsure about what to do, whether to push it if I was just doing it for me, because I wanted to. We prayed about it at YABS a couple of weeks in a row.
I saw Jae and Jas at an engagement party and was talking to them about the whole situation, wondering how I could make it possible and whether they wanted me to lead or not. Next thing I got a message from Kat to ask if I was interested in leading. I told her my dilemma. She ensured me it was fine if I could come from Monday-Thursday and she could handle the Sunday night.
THIS IS AMAZING! I was trying to figure out how I could do the run and come back and lead that night and rah, rah, rah…but have my car and not etc. And out of the blue it is sorted and stress free. I asked for those couple of days off work and it was easily arranged. I am so excited to be able to lead on Girls Camp again. I pray that it will be an amazing experience and the girls will learn how important they are and how precious they are. It’s going to be great.
In another round-about-this-is-how-God-works way, Baz has found that he is also available to lead on the boys camp held at Forest Edge the same time. He too, was wondering about his leave, not realising that it was ‘during’ Easter. I am excited for us both, and I hope that he has the opportunity to connect with the boys again if he is needed to lead. It would be great.
God works in a way that we don’t understand or don’t realise until we go back and connect the dots, just as I have. I often don’t realise that God answers prayers. But I’m learning to look back at things, see what I’ve prayed for or about and see what things God has done or hasn’t done in those areas. I’m learning to appreciate prayer a lot more. And I’m excited!
God has also been at work in Baz’s decisions about his house! But that story can be another time, it’s just another situation at which I can go back and see what God’s doing.
posted by charlotte @ 11:20 AM
2 Comments:
It is encouraging to stop and look back to find God has been there, and connect the dots to see where God's been working!
Random quesiton though, what about the times when the dots don't connect? Is that God too?
Melissa
When the dots don’t connect entirely…I still think there is a way that you can see God working…it might not have been in the way you expected, or you may have to look back again in 5 years time and see how they join completely.
It’s tricky…because if ‘God knows every move we are ever going to make’ then where is our free will? I think that God has ideas that are best for us, but we have the choice whether to take them or not. It might’ve been that we think Route A is quicker, so we go that way, but get caught in Roadworks for 20 minutes, God knew that – but we didn’t, we thought we knew better. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t eventually get to the same destination though.
We aren’t perfect, so we are not going to follow every step that God has made for us every time…but I believe he can use every situation…it’s our perspective on the situation to. It’s our choice, our free will – what we do with the opportunities that are presented to us, are entirely up to us. Is the glass half empty or half full?
We don’t realise it, but if we look hard enough – or sometimes don’t even try at all – we can see what God is doing around us. God isn’t always in every dot, but He’s in the situation as a whole. The dots don’t always make sense or seem like they’re any different to a normal every situation…but we often don’t see the change until a later date, when we look back and reflect.
That’s my experience anyway =)
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