In all things

It's been a busy couple of weeks...so busy that blogging has been all but forgotten. I've got lots of great excuses, but I'll spare myself the time and energy of coming up with them :)

Let's just say getting ready and going to camp is hard work---physically, spiritually and emotionally. I'm still recovering on all ends.

I'm always exhausted by the third day at camp, and this exhaustion usually lasts into the third day of being home. Spiritually, I always need to be at camp just as much as my high school friends do. Every year I need to be reminded of God's unconditional love for me, I need to take a fresh look at my sin, and I need to surrender parts of my heart that I have taken back and withheld from God.

But this year the emotional part has hit me the hardest. And I haven't even let it fully hit me yet because honestly I'm not ready to deal with it. 

I can easily relate God's love to a Father's love for His child. That's an illustration that's makes sense to me. My own father is great. He has always been quick to tell me of his love and how I make him proud. Hugs were always given generously. While my dad is far from perfect, he has been a picture of the beautiful and powerful way my heavenly Father loves me.

But how difficult it is to believe in a Father's unconditional, good and true love when your own father didn't display such love. My heart breaks for the girls who shared their stories of pain, abandonment, and abuse they've suffered at the hands of male family members. The scars of such events run so deep and affect their ability to trust a heavenly Father. 

Their abuse is so horrible that I have not allowed myself to truly process it. And if it's hard for me to handle, how immeasurably more difficult is it for them! I want to be able to stand in the gap of their pain and the hope being offered them. And while I cannot understand what they've gone through, I know all things can be redeemed in Christ.