Kumbaya

Is church camp music more contemporary these days or do they still sing Kumbaya? We will soon find out. Rachel left for church camp this morning. She will be gone for four nights and I can hardly wait for her to get home and give us every detail. She was so excited. She was up and dressed by 6:00 a.m. We didn't have to meet the other campers at our church (which is only 2 miles from our house) until 10:15. This is a picture of her this past weekend when we were setting out all of her stuff to pack.

I was given the privilege of helping to drive the girls to camp. It was fun to see where Rachel will be staying. Actually, the way it worked out the thirteen girls from our church who are attending camp this week road in the fifteen passenger van.

I drove their luggage.

All the parents prayed over the kids before we left for camp. I know that isn't all that unusual, but the way we did it was awesome. The parents held hands and formed a circle, but instead of the girls being a part of the circle they stood in the middle. My friend and I recently completed a Bible study called Joshua and the Call to Live Victoriously by Faith by Jan Wells. The study included lessons on the Armor of God found in the sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 6:16 says, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The following is a quote from the study.

"While Paul was kept imprisoned in chains he saw many Roman soldiers and the armor that the Roman Empire supplied for their soldiers. The Roman shield was a large, oblong or oval piece of leather-covered wood, often backed by metal that was designed to protect the soldier from arrows. The arrows were often tipped with a substance that could be set aflame. In battle, soldiers often fought while standing side-by-side forming a 'wall' of protection because the shields were made to interlock with each other."

It is a slightly frightening thing to send your oldest child off to camp for the first time. Her protection and safety have of course been high on my list of prayer concerns for the week ahead. Isaiah 49:15-16 has been a great comfort. It says, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." God is not going to forget my child. During the times I began to feel a bit anxious the past couple days I would remind myself of that fact.

As we were driving to camp, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about leaving Rachel. I don't have an actual picture of the prayer circle because I was a part of it, but God gave me a mental picture of not just one momma but 13 parents gathered in a circle with their spiritual shields linked together forming a wall of prayer surrounding their children as they prayed for their safety and spiritual growth this week. You can bet I had peace from that moment on.