LIVIN' FOR THE STORY — Camp Tekakwitha 2012

It was the end of my senior year in high school. Everybody was hugging at graduation, saying, "Let's hang out this summer!" or "I'll see you up at the pool, right?" Right. Actually, not.

Five days after graduation, I, along with 60 some other college kids, made the drive down to Williamsburg, Kansas to begin the best summer of my life. That summer would consist of days jam packed with action. Praying, singing, building, dancing, talking, climbing, riding, canoeing, swimming, jumping, laughing — we did it all. 

The theme for camp this summer was "Open the Door to Faith," and that's what Camp Tekakwitha is all about. God, our King and Creator, is always passing by the door of each of our hearts, knocking, waiting for us to let Him in. All we have to do is Trust — trust in our God that He has everything under control, that He has a plan for us, and that He wants to walk through this whole journey right by our side. 

But opening the door to faith isn't just a personal challenge for each of us, it's a world-wide mission. Once we know that Christ is knocking at the doors of our hearts, it's our duty to go out into the world — into our schools, families, parishes, and sports teams — and let everyone know that Jesus is waiting outside the doors of their hearts, too. 

One of my favorite praise and worship songs that we sing at camp is "Overcome" by Jeremy Camp. There's one line that gets me every time: "We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony." This means that if we wish to truly change the world and carry out God's will, we must share our testimonies, tell our stories. Each of us has a story, there's no doubt about that. And each of our stories is a witness to Christ's love, and each of our stories can touch others in such a profound way because we carry similar crosses in life. So I'm telling you, yes YOU, that your story is important. 

We're all livin' for the story. Because our stories intertwine. Our stories are related. Our stories all make up a huge "tapestry" (as Debbie Nearmyer would say) that makes us who we are as the people of God. All of our stories lead back to the cross. 

So all of the crazy stories I have from camp this summer relate back to Jesus, because it's all for Him. The day when some other sweepers and I worked through the 107 degree heat to rebuilt the amphitheater stage for the Mikey Needleman concert — just livin' for the story... The day when we sang "Old McDonald" over and over on a hayride with VBS kids for family camp — just livin' for the story... The day hundreds of past and present campers and staffers reunited at PSR for the 15th anniversary of Camp Tekakwitha — just livin' for the story. 

Someday when we're all saints up in Heaven (because we're ALL called to be saints), we can look back on these beautiful memories that brought us closer to Christ and closer to each other, and we'll realize that this whole time we were just LIVIN' FOR THE STORY.