TIRED...oh so tired.
I got home less than 48 hours ago from 23 days at Lost Canyon where I was incredibly privileged to work alongside 52 amazing college students. Amazing? what I really mean is unbelievable, spectacular and awesome beyond belief.
Yesterday I experienced the Summer Staff Blues. I missed these wonderful friends so much. I didn't have energy to do much of anything. Well I did vacuum because there was alot of dog hair around, and I did wash my clothes and because it was Father's Day and none of our kids were around, I tried to make Scud a nice dinner. He really deserves it as he has been the BEST dad possible for our kids and quite a few others.
But I was so tired. and today...tired too.
Altho I have done a bit more housework today, I went outside to read a book and quickly dozed off. And then I woke up hungry.
So I have this schedule of a newborn baby...eat a little, stay up and then sleep some more.
And I wondered why its so hard to settle back into normal everyday life.
And I remembered the story of Elijah in the bible. Its in 1 Kings chapters 18-19.
Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal (those who worship false gods) to see whose GOD is real. In this story, Elijah mocks them and gets them to yell louder and louder to wake up their false gods. And of course, the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, the ONE whom Elijah serves, makes known His Presence in front of these foolish prophets and eventually all 450 are killed.
This does not sit well with Jezebel the wicked wife and queen of Ahab. She orders that Elijah be killed at once and frightened, he runs away, fearing for his very life.
Here is the story of a man who valiantly spoke of the power, the love, the protection of his God and yet because he was God's own prophet, he spoke up against the deception, the evil, the atrocities of his day and repeated over and over that GOD would not allow this to continue.
And God was faithful to His servant in the midst of these troubling times.
And yet we see Elijah running for his life immediately after he kills all the prophets of Baal.
This is a great reminder for me and my amazing summer staff.
WE, like Elijah, have just ministered for the LORD. We did all that we possibly could to make sure that the over 1000 high school kids that visited Lost Canyon had every opportunity to hear and see the love and kindness of our SAVIOR. Everything we did for 3 weeks, from cooking our meals, to washing the clothes, to making sure the sound boards were working, to manning the ropes course , the zip, the heist, the pool, the blob, the bikes-Everything we did was to show Christ in visible and some invisible ways.
And now, we are home ...tired, exhausted and needing some rest.
In 1Kings 19, an angel of the LORD ministered to Elijah. He needed rest and sleep. He needed to be strengthened, just as we do.
WE need to rest, to eat and most of all, we need to spend time with the LORD to be refreshed and rejuvinated in His Presence. We need a touch from Our Master.
So lets be like babies...eat, sleep and get ready for the next step GOD has for us.
I love you Session 1 Summer staff of Lost Canyon and I miss you terribly.