A story of how a boy found God.
This past summer, I had the awesome privilege of working at a summer camp for the first time. For me, it was 7 weeks of fun interspersed with frantic moments of panic. My assigned job was teaching model rocketry in the arts and crafts department. Needless to say, working with 7-9 year olds on things that could possibly explode worried me a bit. Although, I am happy to report that no eyes were lost or fingers severed.
There's no good way to segway into telling a story :P Oh well. Here's my most eye opening moment at camp. Gather 'round, sit back, grab a cup of hot chocolate (probably should do that before sitting back. I'm sorry), and enjoy.
Being a general staff (aka G-staff) at camp, I was put in a cabin family. As cabin family, I would sit with kids at meal times and (depending on the week) watch the cabin during lunch and rest period so the counselor could get some much needed rest.
Well, this week was blind camp, the first camp of the summer and one of the most exhausting (If you have more questions about the camp, just comment). At meal times, it entailed taking each one of the campers through line and describing the food to them. For rocketry, it entailed building the majority of the rocket for each camper. You get the idea. My cabin family was cabin 14. Their fearless leader: a man by the name of Justin. He had four campers. For this story's purposes, we are going to focus on one particular camper. His name was Jarred (names changed). He was partially blind and had braces on his legs to help him walk. At home, this 19 year old was accustomed to sleeping at least 12 hours a day, so the camp schedule took a toll on him quickly. By Monday night, he was exhausted.
Now, it was Tuesday night following campfire. All the counselors were busy helping their campers get washed and ready for bed. I was making my way back to the guys' staff quarters which sat between the guys' cabins and the bathhouse. I was exhausted. I would have never guessed that camp would be so intense. Twenty feet remained between me and the door to air conditioning and sleep. As if by Providence, Justin came running up from the cabin at the exact same time.
"Richard, just the person I was looking for!" he said. "Jarred is sleeping in the cabin, and I need to take the rest of the guys to shower and brush. Can you watch the cabin for me?" My mind screamed No! I need my sleep! "Sure," I replied, smiling but somewhat crushed. He thanked me and ran back to the cabin to collect the guys. I turned from my intended destination and began walking in the same direction. Along the way I prayed (something like) God, I want to sleep! There had better be something beneficial for me to learn here, and it better not be something like "always work hard and do your best"... that's so cliche. I reached the cabin and stepped inside. Jarred was already in bed and the light in his half of the cabin was off. So I stayed in the lit half of the cabin. Sitting. Praying. Staring around the cabin. Wishing for sleep. The minutes were long. Then a sound of something stirring.
I raised my gaze from the floor to the open doorway that separated the two halves of the cabin, and into the light stepped Jarred. I expected something like "Can I go to the restroom?" or "Can you shut off the light in here too?" but no. He asked, "Do you wanna hear some of my raps?" Jarred wanted to be a rapper. We had talked about it together during meal times. He wanted to tour the country. He wanted to record in a studio. He wanted girls. Ya know, the rapper life.
I prayed a short prayer, God, if this is how you want to use me, so be it. "That would be awesome, Jarred!" I said. I got up from the bunk I was sitting on and walked into the other half of the cabin. Jarred got back in bed and asked, "Which rap do you wanna hear?" He listed off options, and I chose one. I don't remember what it was. Anyway, he took out his "turntable" and explained it to me. It was a ceramic souvenir from Niagara Falls that was about four inches wide and two inches tall. He would run his fingers around it like it was a mini turntable for his records. Next, he showed me a little Canada souvenir that hung on a lanyard around his neck. "This keeps me from saying bad words," he proclaimed. After his little orientation speech, he began.
He started beat boxing... like, quite well. I was taken aback at his skill. Then he started rapping. Needless to say, I was enraptured. For half an hour, I sat enthralled in this impromptu concert. I listened to him rap about everything from country music to Niagara Falls to girls, and as I sat there, I forgot about everything else. I forgot about sleep (which both of us needed). More importantly, I forgot about Jarred's disabilities. Sitting there, you couldn't tell he was blind in one eye. You couldn't tell that his eyes were skewed at odd angles. You couldn't tell that he had a brace on his legs. All I saw was that Jarred was a kid. A kid with dreams. A kid loved by his parents. A kid dearly loved by God... and I was no different. A verse from the Bible popped into my head. "... man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -1 Sam 16:7
I felt like crying... but I didn't. I've just never been the crying type of guy. I'm sorry. But as I sat on the bunk listening to Jarred, I praised God. My eyes had been opened, and I saw God laying there in the bunk... rapping of all things. In the process of listening to Jarred, I heard God speak to me. When the guys got back from the showers, and it was time for me to go, I didn't want to leave! I walked back to my quarters with a smile on my face.
God showed me that, sometimes, it takes a little listening to really understand where you stand in His sight, and no, it may not be listening to sermons. It may not be reading the latest and greatest commentary on the Christian faith. It may not be listening to and singing Christian music. It's none of those howling winds, earthquakes, or fires. It's listening to the still small voice that speaks from the most unlikely sources... and sometimes those sources rap!
Never forget this simple truth, and I hope you gained a blessing from this story. Until next time!
Best Wishes! -Richie
