What was this weekend?? Good question.
SUMMER RETREAT 2012! BARABOO, WISCONSIN!
a.k.a. one of the coolest places on earth.The theme for this retreat was a real good one. I think it really made a connection for all of us there at the retreat. From incoming freshman, to the graduates on their last high school retreat. It was just great all around. The theme was "Fan to Follower." Are you a fan of Christ or a follower of Christ???
All this time, I had thought I was a follower of Christ. And I think in some ways, I am. But in other areas of my life I am just a fan. I don't want to be just a fan. And my youth pastor, Gabe, made it clear to us all that you don't have to be.
So this weekend, we were learning what it meant to be a follower instead of a fan and we were and still are learning how to make that happen in our lives for real.
One of the lessons really stuck with me as I look back on the retreat. It was about things that compete with God for our time. Things that we idol, or just spend a lot of time thinking about. Things that just get in the way, sometimes. I got to thinking about that and I realized it's the relationships in my life that compete with God for my time. And sometimes, those relationships win. I realized that it's going to be something I battle with for a lot of my life. I just have to realize that when I put God first, my relationships with the people around me will be a lot easier. It's easier to love when you've given your first love to Jesus. I think its so cool how that works.
Anyway, Sunday, the last day of our retreat, was quite possibly the most exhilarating day of my life.
On Sunday after breakfast and the morning lesson, all the girls went to a high ropes course!! This consisted of a bunch of real tall poles and super strong cables. It's called a course because it has different challenging obstacles! At first I was quite shaky. Ya know, I'm walking on an inch and a half cable holding on to various objects that sometimes are difficult to hold onto. In some obstacles, you're not holding onto anything at all!
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| Sometimes you're just hanging from a rope with your foot in a sturrup type thing! |
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| Melanie Leach was my partner. She's really cool. :) |
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| Emily, Steph, Mel, and I showing off our muscles! |
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| Me on the giant swing that included a 20 foot free fall drop. :) |
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This is actually a picture of a video. But unfortunately this silly computer wouldnt let me upload the video. :( Sad day. It's an awesome video.
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The video is of the scariest thing I have ever done!! :o
There was an option for us to do something called the leap of faith. Basically, You're climbing up a pole and when you get to the top, you have to boost yourself up so that you're standing on top of the pole. From there you have to jump to a trapeze type thing and catch it with your hands. From the ground it didn't look too hard. But once I got up there, the bar seemed so much farther away.
Pre-Jump words: "I don't think I can jump. I won't make it." Post-Jump words: "Wow, that wasn't so bad."
All the girls cheered for anyone who got the courage to do the leap of faith. In the video, you can hear everyone yelling encouraging words and cheering when I finally jumped and caught the bar on the first try. Right before I jumped, I just felt a comfort wash over me and I realized that the words coming from the leaders and the other girls weren't their words. I just heard God saying, "Hey, don't worry, I've got you. You can do this. You can jump." And I did. I jumped. It was a really cool feeling.
God is such an encouraging, comforting, and protecting God. And after this weekend, I see clearer than ever that God's strength outweighs mine by billions.
