This time of year has a tendency to be rather stressful in the summer camping organization; all of the facilities need to be up and running at their best potential and all of an organization’s staffing needs to be pulled together. Inevitably there are always some loose ends that are only resolved in the 11 o’clock hour. These conditions can be a little nerve-racking to say the least. Like most things in life today, the camp professionals have Facebook groups and this time of year these groups are filled with lively last minute problem solving concerning topics such as; staffing needs, recently discovered programming issues, and facilities issues that have been hiding over winter. In the midst of navigating our own challenges, the concept of placing our trust in God has been brought up more than once. I thought it might be good to spend a few minutes exploring what ‘trusting in God’ might entail.

In the Psalms we hear these words, “ The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm 28:(NRSV) Notice the psalmist is speaking of a trust coming from the heart, not from the mind. This is sometimes a trust that defies logic, originating in the heart, this might be a trust that coexists alongside an intellect which continues to work hard at overcoming the challenges a person faces. Notice that with a trust in the heart the Psalmist feels helped by God. God may not have taken over the challenges, but is journeying with the Psalmist, accompanying the person as they face what is challenging them.

In that same manner, when I refer to trusting in God, I do not envisioning God taking control of and resolving all of the challenges we might be currently facing. Here at Daycholah Center and Moon Beach, we are forming a team of individuals who are working together to resolve the daily challenges we might encounter. God is a foundational member of that team. That does not by any means imply we simply sit back and let God face all of our challenges. It does mean that God journeys with us and helps us explore options that we might not have explored without God influencing our actions. As the Psalmist states, we are helped, our heart exults, and for this we offer thanks each and every day.

~ Rev. Nathan Athorp