God Blesses Me: Junior High Camp
This past weekend, I had the joy of helping lead worship for a junior high camp at Crystal Springs. The theme of the weekend for the campers was focused on the blessings of God, centered around the passage of Psalm 1. It was a beautiful connection for me because, on the drive down to the camp, I was telling my friend how sometimes I feel like God blesses me more than others. Not in a mean way, but it is a special feeling to sense God's extra care and love in my life. Throughout my whole life, I have struggled with anxiety, and I was worried about not being able to sing for worship at the camp. But God continued to make me feel blessed throughout the weekend by giving me the strength to sing, even with a sore throat and nervousness that usually would make my voice shake.
Growing up, I used to pray that God would take my anxiety away. I would throw up before school every day, and I constantly had diarrhea before an event. I remember standing in the kitchen in the morning, my head stuck in the sink, singing praises to Jesus and trying not to vomit. It was equally humiliating and a blessing. One of my life verses, 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on God for He cares for you," would run through my mind on repeat. God always gave me the strength to go to school, do theatre, survive another military move, etc. Even now, He gives me strength every Sunday before doing the kids’ worship for Sunday school. My God is a good God. He didn’t take my anxiety away because He has a much bigger plan for my life. He uses my testimony to help me share God’s goodness with others, and He continues to grow me. I learn more every day about how to depend on Him and how to surrender my life to His will.
His will involved going to this camp and leading worship, which turned out to be much more fun than I expected. Since junior high was such a hard time for me, and I love elementary-age kids, I tend to avoid middle schoolers. But man, did God change my opinion this weekend. I love junior highers! Over the weekend, multiple kids came up to us and told us what a great job we were doing and how much they enjoyed our energy. One gal wrote us a note saying how much she enjoyed the worship. Those kids were so open, honest, sweet, and caring. Yes, they are vulnerable and going through the sometimes difficult changes in their lives, but as Sam pointed out, they still have a kid in them. One girl tried to teach me how to rollerblade; they were easy to hype up, and they jumped feet-first into whatever we were doing. God blessed me so much through those kids and through the conversations with the other adults. I wouldn’t trade this weekend for anything.
I challenge you guys to think about how God is blessing you in your life. Maybe even make a list. For me, the biggest blessing is God choosing me to send His Son to die for my sins. Then He blessed me with an amazing church family, blood family, friends, and so many Godly people in my life. He blessed me with unique experiences, the gift of prayer, His Word, and a love for Him and His Word. What has God blessed you with? If you aren’t feeling very blessed, is it your attitude? What needs to change?
Love,
Caytee