Comfort in Sovereignty

I admit my mind often goes to dark places. My imagination gets the best of me, especially when I worry about my daughter. The other day, my friend and I discussed how we had felt helpless when we desired children and couldn’t have them, but now that we have a child, we feel vulnerable. Our child is the weak link in our armor. We find ourselves sometimes fretting unnecessarily about losing our child.

On the fourth of July, I saw a firework explode in the sky not too far from my car as I drove home from my friend’s house. We had just had the above conversation. I suddenly pictured in my mind a reckless teenager (or adult for that matter) shooting off a firework in the wrong direction, and it crashing through the back side window, hurting, if not killing, my little angel. I know, right? Dark.

On my way to Dexter to see my dad, horror upon horror seized my thoughts. I imagined a tornado coming out of nowhere (well, there was a storm ahead) with me pulling over, grabbing Kayla from the car, and ducking in a ditch off the side of the road. The story ended with my decapitation. Further down the road, I saw a semi truck swerving suspiciously and my imagination went crazy again: The truck driver loses control and flips. I try desperately to stop in time but fail, smashing my car into the side of the truck. I’m near death but Kayla is unharmed. Strangers come and call 9-1-1. My phone is dead (and it actually was at the time), so no one knows who to call. Kayla is shipped off to a foster family while my family frantically seeks answers.

You might be thinking, “Silly, Becca, these things won’t happen to you.” Why not? What makes me so special that I get to escape such calamities? Let’s move closer. What makes you so special?

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 states, “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.”

James warns against the evil of boasting about tomorrow in James 4:13-17. He states in verse 14, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

So, what do we do? Look over our shoulder at every corner? Let fear grip us until we choke? Heavens no! We take comfort in the fact not a sparrow falls dead without God’s knowledge (Matthews 10:29). We take comfort in God’s sovereignty. He might, no, will allow times of misfortune. Look at Job…ouch! But nothing that happens in our life is a surprise to God. He is watching over us, carrying us through it. He loves us and gives us strength and peace (Psalms 29:11).

So, praise God for his sovereignty!! He will see us through anything that may befall us!

Camp Niangua 2012

It's been several weeks since camp, so it's about time I write about my experience. First of all, camp was amazing. God worked in so many ways.
We arrived on Monday, registered and had lunch. The first day was pretty low key. I knew ahead of time that I was going to teach and help with the choir class. In addition, I was asked to be a team leader during the midday gathering. The job description was to be encouraging and have energy. I could do that.What was not mentioned was the fact I would be challenged with an extremely diverse group and had to get them to work together in harmony.

My group ranged from the athletic to the geek, from tall to short, from small to large, from energetic to too-cool-to-be-there attitudes. Our first team project was to come up with a name and a cheer associated with our team color: green. Encouraging isn't the word for what I had to do to get my group to voice opinions and agree. "Pulling teeth" is a clearer depiction. Finally, we came up with a name: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were teenagers and green, so the name was fitting. Our cheer was using our bodies to form the letters TMNT while our cheerleader (literally speaking) shouted each letter. We got second to last place. First place went to the blue team, who danced around in a circle mimicking the Smurfs. No contest really. The goofier, the better, and we were not goofy.

Tuesday's activity was trying to hit other teams with water balloons while they walked in connected lines back and forth across the softball field. The further the team, the higher the points. Each team got 10 balloons. We shot off 8...3 popped in our hands, 1 was mercifully replaced. Needless to say, we didn't do so hot. However, my team worked a little better together. Some took the lead and organized who would hold the sling shot. We gave everyone a turn, regardless that some were obviously better shots than others.

Wednesday we played tug-of-war on a tarp slathered with dish soap and hosed down. We lost each time but had a blast! We worked together on strategy. We were a true team!

Thursday the activity was human battleship. Volleyball nets covered with tarps separated each team, who lay on the ground in various positions. Each team had a player throw a beach ball over the net, and if s/he hit an opposing player, that player hit was out. Our team took turns at who would throw the beach ball. I was impressed by the lack of arguing. They really did work well together. We earned the most activity points that day.

I was pleasantly surprised by my team's positive attitudes. Compared to the other teams, we were losing...bad! Regardless, they tried their best and never blamed each other for our failures. On Thursday, one boy even shouted out, "Go, green team," to me across the quad. He was one of the kids I thought had the I-don't-want-to-be-here mentality. Looks like I was wrong =).

In the end, we came in last place, even after I earned us extra points by participating in a skit (which was super funny!). Placement didn't matter, though. I was so proud of them for working so well together. An accomplishment I didn't see us achieving that first day.

Along with being a team leader, I also taught 13 and 14-year-old girls each morning and helped with a choir class in the afternoon. This blog is long enough without describing these experiences in detail as well.
Let me just tell you of one major impression I got. Teenagers are lonely. I found that many of these girls had no true friend, someone they could always rely on. Someone loyal in all life's circumstances. My heart ached at their stories. At the same time, my heart rejoiced in my fortune. I'm surrounded by caring people. I have not only my husband, but a best friend whom I consider a sister.

Never take true friends for granted. They are rare gems.