Learning To Love Consequences
Camp is moving right along today. We were welcomed this morning with partly cloudy skies and a gentle breeze on this beautiful 4th of July day. Last night we had Round 1 of the Wiffleball World Series (WWS) and we had two competitive games.
Caddo won game one 4-0 as pitchers Zachary T. and Will F. combined for a complete game shutout. Will F. along with Cole E. and Zachary T. also combined to drive in the 4 runs for the win. In game two Tejas fought back to get the 8-5 win in a nail biter. The game count is 1-1 and both teams will square back off to play two more games this afternoon.
This morning campers are participating in our famous, famous, most famous Huawni Triathlon. We hope to post the results as soon as we are done.
Learning to Love Consequences
I remember being in Honeysuckle Hollow as a camper. It was 6am and the door creaked open. We were all asleep. Our director at the time, Rob Payne, stood firmly in the middle of the cabin and said, “Alright boys, get up.” We did everything we could to play dumb, acting as if what happened the night before was something we were not involved with. We had pulled a prank on girls camp, and our bluff was wearing ever so thin. Soon enough, one of my cabin mates got out of bed. Soon, we were all getting out of bed, non-verbally and begrudgingly taking responsibility for what we had done.
I learned a great lesson that day thanks to my director Rob Payne. Not only was I reminded of my own ugliness (what we did was very inconsiderate and wrong), but I also got a glimpse of what it means to have an authority figure who loved me enough to kick me in the rear and lead me in the right direction. As the old proverb says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, and profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” Rob chose to love us that day, even though it hurt a little. Over the years, because of moments like these, my admiration and gratitude for Rob has only increased.
As we head into week two of Session 3, I got to relive that moment, albeit in a director’s shoes. What is especially hard about these situations is that you never know how campers will respond. Thankfully, the handful of campers that were involved responded better than I could have hoped. They owned up to what happened and have since verbalized to me that Camp is a place where they can be their true selves. I see these boys growing into young men.
Small, teachable moments like these happen daily at Camp. Our hope is that when possible, we can teach kids truthful life lessons that stick with them for a lifetime. Once campers grow up (as you parents already know), the stakes are bigger. The consequences are potentially life altering. And maybe, just maybe, the dumb mistakes we make as campers (and even adults…especially ones I am making even today) will lead us to life-giving decisions down the road.
