The Path to Camp Part 1

(I decided to make this story into more than one part so that it was both easier to read and type, especially since it spans the last 8 months)

Have you ever made plans? 

A silly question, right? We, as humans, like making plans. And we especially like when our plans end up going... well... according to how we planned! Even if you don't specifically enjoy the planning process, I'm sure you still appreciate when your hopes or ideas take place and become concrete. There is just a great feeling of accomplishment that comes when we see our ideas, hopes, or dreams come to fruition. Sometimes though, I'm so completely thankful when my planning fails or when I can't even begin to contemplate what I desire because of the sheer enormity of it. That is when I can see that God's plans are so much better than anything I could have ever dreamed up!

Example A: Spending a summer at Camp Barakel counseling

End of summer / fall

I spent last summer as a YAP and truly enjoyed it, but in the back of my mind I kept remembering the week I got to work as a counselor. It was by far my favorite week! The energy, the exhaustion, the joys and sorrows, everything was so exciting for the campers, but it was also pretty exciting for me. I left the summer behind me and started school thinking that as much as I loved the idea of another summer at camp I just didn't see it happening. There were several reasons why I told myself it couldn't happen. Mostly, I was trying to figure out a way to start managing my small cattle herd by myself. (Quick recap on a long story: someone else had been caring for them for me over the previous fall-summer and once I got back, requested that I take over and move the herd.) So I looked into several options. Including trying to make the logistics work to put up fencing and keep them at my house as well as looking into purchasing 18 acres and starting a farm. None of them made sense and I was getting discouraged. 

January
Then I talked to a family friend who has a lot of experience in farming and especially in cattle. I thought he would give me the perfect answer and that I'd have everything figured out after that with a genius plan of starting a farm and raising cattle for the rest of my life. It challenged me though because that's not what happened at all. He said to not let the idea of starting a farm take over my life and get in they way of other things that could be important... like college (which at this point I had already stopped after 1 semester of uncertainty) and whatever else God might be calling me to do. 

February

After a lot of prayer and thought, I decided to be done with the cows (for now...someday I will hopefully be able to have a little cattle farm, just right now was not good timing). The way God worked it out was somewhat painful during the process, but on this side looking back I see His hand in it in the way He took away the desire to keep the cows and replaced it with a desire to start considering spending the summer of 2013 at camp. 

(and that's all for now... more to come soon)