Raise up a Child

The past few days I have been at the camp that is connected to our church. I had been asked to volunteer as director of a half week session where kids duckling #4's age come with an adult and experience camp life. What an experience! We had a small group, just four (sometimes five) kids and their parents. And what fun we had!!! We swam, canoed, sang songs, played games, did crafts, hiked, explored nature, and cooked our lunch in the rec hall (we were suppose to cook outside, but there were thunderstorms, so inside we went). But most importantly, it was an opportunity to share GOD's word with these small people. And they got it! It was so humbling to see how these innocent little kids just got how much their Heavenly Father loves and cares for them. It made me think about how the Bible says that if you raise up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:). I did not grow up going to church regularly, we may have gone occasionally, but it wasn't part of our daily lives, and talking about GOD certainly wasn't something that we did. My kids hear about HIM on  a daily basis, HE is part of life.
At the camp every morning they have something called morning watch where the counselors do a little devotion/worship time, with songs, Scripture reading, and sometimes a skit. One day it was the Parable of the Sower. I wonder what seeds will grow in these kids that I served with this week? What will they remember from that time spent at camp? Will it be the games, the songs, the hikes, or the canoe trip? Or will it be the morning watch, and the message that GOD loves them unendingly? Will they remember the "Roses, Buds, and Thorns" (more about that later), or praying around the campfire? What will they take with them that will shape their faith, and thus their lives as they grow in their faith? At 'our' camp people tend to come back year after year, it really is like a small (or maybe not so small) community, so I look forward to watching these young people grow and mature. I can't wait to see the adults they become!