Actively Thankful

The last couple of weekends at camp have been full of kids. Like 130 of them from the ages of 8 to 12. I wasn't here for whole weekend, just for Friday night registration when they come pounding through the doors, loaded down with sleeping bags, backpacks and winter gear. They come in various shapes and sizes (although up here a majority of them are blond). And they come in various states of dress and undress: some are already fitted out in full winter gear. Other comes in a only a hoodie (if it's 20 degrees, you don't need a coat). Some never remove their hats as if they're glued on until winter comes to a conclusion some time in May. All of them clump around in heavy snow boots.

After a long car ride (most come from the cities, which can be a two hour drive), they are full to bursting with energy. They run up and down the halls, roll carpetballs with a little too much energy and playing pool with pool sticks is too slow - they treat them like carpetballs. They tell "big" stories. (Like the boy that spilled his coke in the car on the way up - now, that was a HUGE deal.) And they can get in trouble in a matter of five seconds flat. (Like the two older girls pulling along a cute little boy with a crush on one of them.) Camp echoes with shouts, and chatter, and laughter. It's what I'll miss most when I leave...

Kids have such a simple look on life. Yes, their problems are big in comparison to their size; but we shake our head at them and know everything will be fine. But they don't know that. Their best friend has hurt them. They're teased at school. Their parents favored their siblings over them in a fight. They have just as much trouble being thankful in times of hurt as we do.

And that was Bill's challenge to them these past weekends: to be thankful. To have an attitude of gratitude. To actively look for ways to be thankful.

Last night was a miserable night. I think I clocked three hours of sleep. I had a million things running through my head. Seems like my lists aren't getting any shorter, which is irritating to me. Lots of HUGE changes coming down the pike, and I'm not sure what to do with half of them. Faking that I know what I'm doing is only good in public. Once I'm alone, I easily break down. And having not even been up here a year yet, I often feel very alone. The last thing I felt like this morning when I rolled out of bed was being thankful. Then I had a e-mail in my inbox this morning.

It was from a mom who had brought her 9 or 10 year old little girl up to camp this past weekend. The Lord touched young Tori's heart and she went home bound and determined to find ways to be thankful. And she took a video of one of them. In the snow around the front curb of her house, she had painted in the snow a message to her mailman: "Thank you for delivering our mail."

I have much to be thankful for. The credit card machine at the post office that hadn't been working all morning worked when I went in to stock up on stamps for camp (prices go up Saturday!). And she had the brand new Love stamps that just came out so I could buy some for wedding invitations. I have a warm place to be when the temps are 25 below zero. My car starts every morning. The snow is lovely. My sister Katey and I had a great conversation yesterday. And my God never changes.

So much to be thankful for.