Gulliver's Travel - Vol 5. The Maple Leaf Story

things that count

Its been said a million times and it will be said again another million times. But this weekend I was again reminded on this simple fact: when you boil life down to its core, what really matters at the centre of our existence are relationships. It's when you're a crusty old fart, winding down the years to hitting 80yrs of existence in this world, that you come to realise that money, fame, fortune, popularity and materialistic goods are merely fleeting shadows of the real satisfaction given in life through relationships and friendships. I'm not exactly 80 just yet, but I can kinda imagine the joy behind all the old-man-hoarse-sounding kinda laughs and chuckles that you get as you ride down memory lane with fellow geriatrics, reminiscing on all the good times that you had with them back in the good old days.

Well, this weekend was an occassion that not only brought back the euphoria and fond memories of all the houseparties, summer camps and treestumps I went on as a kid, but it was also a weekend where fellowship, friends, unity and off-the-scale FUN was experienced in generous doses. You better believe it, it was the St.John's Shaugnessy Senior Youth Retreat!

This was the break down:

• Friday to Sunday (Finally I had a legitimate reason for missing classes, conscience cleared)
• Anvil Island (this place is out in whoop whoop, it ran on generators for electricity)
• 20ish crazy kids from Year 10-12
• Talks on 1 John, focusing on Love and Fellowship as a community
• 4 leaders and the oh so important cooks
• Ken Moser along with Julie led the camp, Dave Little did the talks and I was there to help out.

Just to give the highlights, the crux of the camp talks and focus of the camp was centred around John's words:

Just from this little verse so many ramifications flow out from its wake, in terms of our attitude and thoughts towards our brothers/sisters in Christ, our response to what happened on the cross, and of course our actions as a result. Its interesting to see how love and our response to what Jesus did for us on the cross is the basis and driving force behind so many characteristics that a christian should exhibit, virtues of forgiveness, gratitude, generousity, serventhood, patience, humility, faithfulness...and the list kinda goes on and on. All of these things are important building blocks in any type of relationship and moreover, they are fundamental to having a coherent community that supports and encourages its members. The best part of camp was not necessarily being reminded of these truths but actually seeing them being played out in action through the kids and seeing the almost immediate effects it had on the dynamic of the group. I'm not gonna lie...I was stoked. By the end of camp, there was a real positive and loving vibe buzzing amoung the group, and it wasn't just something that you felt, but something that could be seen in just the way they related to one another.

By the time I got back from camp last night, I felt satisfied. Satisfied in the knowledge that not only did the kids learn a whole stack and bonded heaps well together, but more selfishly, that I also learnt a stack, that solid friendships were built with the kids, and that I had the chance to refocus and re-examine my response to the cross and the consequent love that I should have on others. Afterall, we love...because God first loved us.

I don't know how people can easily remain Christian if they get no fellowship. They may be able to do it intellectually, but part of the body of man is composed of spirit and parts of soul and of flesh.

Larry Norman

posted by Lemdog @ 7:15 AM