7 Year Olds Say the Darndest Things!

Highlights of my week at camp:

1) While on a trek to the woods to build the most epic fort ever, my 7 year olds and I somehow got on the topic of death.

Kaedyn: "Miss Jane, my grandma died of a very tragic disease."
Me: "Oh Kaedyn I am so sorry that happened! Do you know what disease she died from?"
Kaedyn: "Pompeii. It was very very sad."

It took everything I had to keep myself from laughing hysterically. I mean, aren't they still digging through the ash of that infamous city destroyed by a volcano? Maybe they just recently found Kaedyn's grandma! Okay, okay, I shouldn't joke about Kaedyn's grandma dying, but it was pretty darn funny!

2) I was just calling out names at the end of the day and sending kids home, and one of my favorite little girls was hanging out with me.

Lauren: "Miss Jane, you are so pretty." (Don't forget, this is the end of the day, I know I look TERRIBLE, so it means so much to me when the kids say I look/smell good!)
Me: "Aww thank you Lauren, you are such a sweetheart!"
Lauren: "Yeah, I really like your mouth."

Okay, kinda sorta creepy that she would say that, but I took it as a compliment! Oh how those kids make me smile!

3) Towards the end of the day on Wednesday, my boss brought out these old watermelons and gave one to each group. The plan was to throw them off of Pirate's Graveyard, which is this place that has a creek/bridge and stuff. As we were walking, I asked my group what we should name our dear watermelon. After much deliberation, we decided on Lady Gaga, because sometimes I just want to smash her face. When it was my turn, I gave it my best battle cry and chunked Lady Gaga over the bridge. She went pretty high in the air, but missed the concrete and landed in the grass unharmed. How embarrassing! EVERYONE was laughing at me, and my boss went to pick up Lady Gaga who then tragically exploded on the cement. That may just be one for the books, y'all!

4) My Thursday was going TERRIBLY. NONE of my kids were listening, and I was running extremely low on patience. My two boys who are in my group ALL the time and are bff were being awful. After trying and trying to talk to them, I began to break down. I went up to Karen, one of my best friends who worked lead staff this week, and tearfully told her I couldn't handle them anymore. I haven't cried at work in a LONG time, but it happened. The situation was eventually worked out, but goodness, I thought that day would never get better. While doing my normal job of calling out names, one of the 8 year olds came up to me. Her name is Isabelle. She is normally full of energy and happy all the time, but I had noticed throughout the day that she was getting hurt a lot and seemed unhappy. She approached me in tears and I immediately asked her what was going on. She told me she had had a rough day. Preach it sister! After a few minutes, her emotions about some circumstances in her life spilled out and as I hugged this precious child, I realized why I work at camp. It's not so I can get a tan, lose my voice, or get to go crazy every day. It's so I can show the love of Christ to these kids. I had always known that camp was my ministry, but it hit me HARD that day. The only thing I could think to tell Isabelle was that she is LOVED, and she needed to hear that truth. I regret not sharing the gospel with her. What better opportunity! But I know the Lord was using me to comfort her. Suddenly, my bad day didn't even exist anymore. I am right where my Jesus wants me, and I wouldn't have traded that moment for anything else. Later that evening, God proved His goodness even more when I checked my e-mail and found out I had gotten the scholarship I applied for earlier this summer! It's crazy to think that my plan was for the rest of my day to be just as terrible. I had planned on a giant cry session when I got home! But God's plan blew my mind and was greater than I ever knew. Now if I could only remember this ALL the time!

I would like to share a verse that my dear friend Jan shared with me several days ago.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." - John 15:9-11

I am so encouraged by the love of Christ. I want to strive to live it out in every aspect of my life, for He shows His love to me every second.

JEE