Dear world,
Here we are again. Another whirlwind series of months since my last post, spanning 3 countries, half a dozen cities, seven days of cruising, five weeks of work, seven weeks of camp, one crucial exam, one family reunion with 37 boisterous Bodens, four visits with one special lady, 10 days of RA training, 44 freshmen guys, and a partridge in a pear tree. It's been quite a ride. No joke.
But through all of that -- the silly, the thrilling, the sad, and even the little bit of bad -- I find myself here again on another hazy Pennsylvania morning with likely much to do, but with little incentive to do any of it. So I greet you, my long-neglected but ever-loyal cyber chums, and I thank you for your interest in this little life of mine.
Each number in that litany of statistics above could be expanded upon greatly. But to boil it all down, it was a fantastic summer, but it sure was busy. I was the Program Director at camp again, my second year in the position and sixth year working up there. I also had to be back on campus for RA training on August 17th. So my summer, essentially, was the month of June, in which time I turned 21, worked full time for 4 weeks, studied every night for the GRE, wrote the GRE, and got camp program prepared.
Then there was camp, which went swimmingly. It was not without its challenges, as much to me personally as to the camp as a whole, but in unexpected ways, as I suppose it always is, we saw God work in and through his people. Interestingly, at camp we (the counselors) talk often of sharing Christ with the campers, of enlightening them through word and deed to the love of God in their lives. And yet time and time again, it is the counselors who come away from this ministry having been touched themselves so personally and powerfully by the hand of God, and who come, through serving and living by faith, to know God more deeply in their own lives.
So that is that. I don't have much time these days for looking behind, though, for it is the future that presently holds my attention. I'm in the midst of grad school applications, which seem quite profoundly to start as grad school aspirations. I'm interested in the field of school psychology, and to get there I'm looking at doctoral programs. Big stuff. But somewhere between looking at programs and studying in programs is a grueling application process seemingly contrived to beat bright-eyed applicants to their knees in submission before silent committees of high-brow academics who scrutinize your paper-sized life and survey the grades that have now become the ultimate manifestation of your God-given potential.
Thankfully, the God who gave me potential is the God in control. Of everything. What blessed assurance indeed.
So if you are a praying person, I'd appreciate prayers to that end. And if you are not a praying person, why not give it a whirl? At worst, you'd just be talking to yourself, but at best you'd be entering into time with the God above all things, the Creator bringing love and restoration and hope to a world that would be lost without it. It's worth a shot.
Have a holly jolly Tuesday, everybody!
jmb
