Do Summers Have Wings?

I don’t know where my summer went. 

I anticipated and anticipated and anticipated it…and now it is leaving swiftly, rapidly. It is flying away right over my head. I try to grasp hold of its elusive wings, but nope. I am left with nothing but a handful of feathers. 

Funny how that works. 

As you probably already know, I work at a Christian Camp in North Carolina during the summers. And, as a result, my life for the last two months has been full of messy, joyous, tired, lovely, exhausting chaos. 

Holy chaos, I think I would say, because God has been so good and has given me so much grace. Fun chaos (most of the time). But chaos all the same. 

As a camp friend of mine says, “The weeks go by so fast, but the days last forever.”

That is definitely how it feels to me. My days have been packed with cleaning bathrooms, serving food, folding laundry, and interacting with campers. 

Sometimes I think that breakfast was yesterday and supper is tomorrow (no, seriously)! 

And then, every Saturday, I look back and wonder if Monday was yesterday. But, no, Sunday flies by, Monday is today again, and the entire cycle repeats!

In light of this summer, two passages especially come to my mind. 

The first is Psalms 37:13-14, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

According to this passage, I have no excuse to give up, no matter how many toilets I clean or floors I sweep. I need to keep pressing on and do the work that God has, at least at this point in my life, called me to do...even when I feel like “fainting!” This ability to continue serving (while weary) is only possible when I force myself to see the everlasting goodness of God. If I can just get my eyes off of myself and truly realize who God is and what He has done, what else can I do except serve Him?

The second passage is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

This summer I have felt so, so weak. Sin plagues my heart and the battle against it is long and difficult. I fail so much…in my words, my actions, my work, my ambitions. I need God to cleanse me and constantly renew me. The happy truth is that God promises to use me and to be strong through me (even in my weakness) if I choose to rely on Him (and Him alone). This truth is so comforting to me! 

In conclusion, this summer has been hard and good. There have been frustrating days, but by God’s everlasting grace and strength they have been beautiful days. And God has done some amazing things:

• He has brought a wonderful staff together that are unified by their common love for Himself.

• He has planted seeds of faith in over seven-hundred kids’ hearts.

• He has given rain when we desperately needed it.

• He has once again worked a work in my own stubborn heart…

• and He continues to speak through His Word!

I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve at camp, and I am blessed to have such a wonderful Heavenly Father who uses regular, sinful, weak people to do His will. 

So, yes, my summer flew by fast. 

But God has done a great work in these few summer months. He has done a great work in kids’ hearts and lives. He has done a great work in me. 

No, I don’t know where my summer went. 

But I do know that it has changed me. 

-- Karis Anne