Thanks Carrie!

When I was in elementary school I attended a camp with girls from my church about 90 minutes from home. At this camp the focus was on learning more about God, missions, and of course having a fun week away from home. My camp counselors were wonderful examples of Christian women, and I wanted to be just like them. Their love for the Lord and their desire to live their lives for Him was completely evident and very contagious. The last summer I went to camp my counselor, Carrie, prayed with me as I accepted Christ as my savior and even wrote letters to me for 2-ish years after that 1 week of camp. I ran into her a few years later at another camp I attended in high school, and it was such a blessing to have that connection with her years later. She made a lasting positive impact on my life.

When I started college I began thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I was earning a degree in Psychology, but knew I would need further education to be able to fully use it. I've always like children, but preferred the idea of one-on-one/small group interactions over full classroom settings, so I ruled out teaching. After much thought and prayer I decided that guidance counseling would be an ideal fit for me. To begin obtaining some experience with children I then began trying to figure out how I wanted to spend my summers. I knew that going home would be free, but after being away for a year it could be kind of rough. Remembering all the fun times I experienced at camp growing up, I applied to work at the same camp I attended years before. I was hired and spent the next 2 summers working there.

My first summer was a learning experience. I worked with girls in the age range of 3-6th grade (usually 3rd and 4th graders). I had a serious boyfriend also working at a camp, so most of my free time was spent writing letters to him about what was going on in my life and anticipating his letters (cell phones were not allowed). My campers had fun, but there was a lot of homesickness, lack of sleep and personal time, and other obstacles for me to tackle. There were also some behind the scenes "politics" that I worked hard to avoid, but they still contributed to a lot of staff drama. At the end of the summer I was glad I worked there, but didn't want to return the following summer.

Well God thought otherwise and drew me back to this camp. During my sophomore year of college the serious boyfriend mentioned above and I broke up, and long story short it devastated me. We were in an almost 3 year long distance relationship that was showing signs of strain, and we got to the point where we fought more than we laughed. He began spending time with a girl at his school (who he later confessed to wanting to date) and I was completely oblivious to this until one of his friends told me about it because he didn't like the fact that the boyfriend wasn't being honest with me. You can imagine how well that went over. I just knew I was going to marry that guy and my heart was completely invested in that plan... and that was the problem... it was MY plan, not God's, and my heart was invested in My plan, not God's plan. Though I've never experienced divorce, the pain and healing and life experiences I went through that school year following the break-up hurt deeply as I learned to be "just me" and not "me and boyfriend."

I held on to every last strand of hope I could find and then finally after months of slowly, excruciatingly pulling the band-aid off my hurt I got tired. I got tired of fighting so hard for something that had been over and gone for months. I got tired of fighting against moving forward to unknown and new experiences in life. I had had enough of the pain, and I let go.

God saved an opening for me at camp again... this time working with 6th-8th grade girls almost every week in the set of cabins on the most remote (and almost most beautiful) part of camp. Since I didn't have a boyfriend to write letters to, I was able to invest more of myself into God and my campers and the summer was amazing. I had a renewed sense of purpose and satisfaction with life from deep within my heart. I had no homesickness in my cabin, and my campers were always the most well behaved in the group. We shared stories of our lives, and I was able to share God's love with them in a whole new way for me. That summer I healed, I served God, and I found my passion.

Call me crazy, but I love working with middle schoolers. Their independence yet desire to fit in and their maturity yet childlike manners fascinate me. My ideal long-term career goal is to become a middle school guidance counselor. I want to be a strong, moral example among all the temptations and struggles that come with that age. I want to encourage young men and women to strive for and achieve their dreams. I want to leave a lasting, positive impression on them like my camp counselor did for me.

Well, you need a master's degree and certification for schools to hire you... and you need money to go to graduate school, so those plans are on hold for now. In the meantime though I have recently started a small group for middle school aged ladies at my church. Soon it will be opened to high school ladies as well. I am so incredibly excited about this program, yet completely humbled by it too because I want God to be able to use me how He sees fit.

I hope I didn't lose your interest in this long post! I know there are a lot of important issues and concerns out there worthy of your prayers, but if you could take a moment to pray for the young women at my church/in my community and the growth/success of this program I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks bloggers!