G Words and YL Capernaum - Suzanne Williams

I remember the moment like it was yesterday.  I was walking across Southwind, night one of a Capernaum week.  All of the campers were moving from one event to club and I asked a girl if she was having fun.  She stopped in her tracks, jumped up and down, saying, “Yes, this place is the greatest!  Look they even have water fountains for us!”

When I think about that moment, my mind floods with others that are so similar.  A girl who said her favorite part of camp was a hot shower.  A boy who couldn’t get past the fact that the kitchen made him a sandwich instead of the meal that was being served.  And on and on the list goes. 

Our campers are overwhelmed with gratitude.  Whether it’s a small thing, like sandwiches and water fountains, or a large thing like a wheelchair that allows them to roll right into the beautiful, zero entry pool at Carolina Point, our friends swell with gratitude.  They ooze it from every pore; they express it with every ounce of their beings.  They are bewildered and overjoyed.  Excited and grateful.  There isn’t an inch of camp that seems to go unnoticed by them. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and the cause behind it.  Sure, you could say that for some it’s because they lack those things at home.  You may say it’s a simple faith or just that profound joy that many of our friends carry.  I’ve thought about all of those things and while I do believe that they are true, I think it’s even bigger than that.  I believe that so many of our friends extend gratitude because their hearts are living in a posture of gratitude over expectation. 

In our family, we talk a lot about G words.  You may be racking your brain to think about what bad words start with the letter G, so let me help you out. Our G words are greedy and grateful.  When greedy begins to take over, we spend a lot of time practicing gratefulness instead.  We even have gratitude journals to make lists and to help ourselves remember both the big and the small.

As Capernaum continues to grow, I wonder what it would look like for us to live in the same posture of our friends.  What if we got to camp and we thanked the camp staff for water fountains and doors that are wide enough for our friends in wheelchairs?  What if we thanked fellow leaders for lending a hand and sharing their wisdom when we’re frustrated?  What if we thanked our friends for teaching us about how to be present?  What if we found ourselves overflowing with joy instead of expectation?  What if our posture was steeped in a G word that took over our hearts and minds? 

I think we’d stop in our tracks a bit more often.  We’d probably jump up and down when we discovered things.  We may take three showers a day, in a shower chair because let’s be real, as a leader on day four at camp that could feel like a spa! 

Would you take a few moments now to write down some of the things that you are grateful for in your ministry?  After that, consider your friends.  How have they taught you about gratitude?  Will you send us your stories?  We’d love to gather stories, like my friend with the water fountain, where

we’re reminded so deeply of the posture that we want to carry as Capernaum leaders!  Send them in and we’ll post them all year long!

We’re so GRATEFUL for you!  Grateful for the ways that you pursue kids, meet them on their turf and bring them to the cross!  Thank you!