how great...

So tonight as I was blog stalking (for lack of a better word), I came across a blog that had How Great is Our God playing in the background, and it all hit me dead on. Standing on a hill known as Vesper with the sun burning my closed eyes, I stood beside 6 or so girls, all as vulnerable as I was, and we all sang that song with every ounce of our heart. We were there to love on each other and love on our GOD. How great he is…  And with that song, summer came flooding back.

For those who don't know, I worked at Camp Lake Stephens, in Oxford this summer, and needless to say, it was probably the best experience of my life. I have never felt more blessed in an 11 week period than I did this summer.

I stood in my room a few days ago trying to explain the feeling and love I had for this summer and I found myself frustrated. Frustrated because I just couldn't get out the words to mean what I wanted them to. Frustrated because I can't ever seem to explain it where people see the full beauty and depth of what I was blessed to do this summer.

But I know frustration isn't what I should feel for those things…it should be gratefulness that I had an experience so breathtaking that it cannot be explained in simple words.

We wrote ourselves letters the seventh week of the summer that would be mailed to us later in the year, and I got mine a few weeks ago. It brought back a lot of memories and a lot of reminders that I need at this point in the year. Here is something I told myself…

"such JOY-great word for the summer. Everything brings me joy here…the kids, the staff, being in God's creation, the small things. It's so easy to get caught up in a routine I have found even at camp. That is how my school experience has been, and I want to get out of that. Push myself out of my comfort zone more often and not let that freak me out."

So here's to finding that JOY in the small things every day,

Here's to stepping out of my comfort zone,

Here's to sharing my experience without frustrations,

Here's to MY GREAT GOD.

xoxo Maria