Kid Counselor

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The saying says that time flies when you’re having fun, but fun isn’t a requirement. I just got back from another fun week of camp and it makes see how time is moving.

I remember being in Cadets (boys group) at church and at the end of every year we would have a points auction to buy stuff with the points we earned that year. I always used all my points to purchase fishing lures, bobbers, and other related items. The only time I ever used it was at camp, but I was ready to sit on that dock by Lake Crumb in the hot sun to use my gear.

Now, a few seasons have passed and the lake has changed, but I still have most of that fishing tackle. However, now it’s used to help other kids sit on the dock in the sun to get that first bite. I love seeing their excitement as they real in the catch and remember the thrill I had as well.

My first year as a counselor was full of excitement with a touch of nervousness in how I could help. It seems like just yesterday I was reading bedtime stories to two wide-eyed boys that didn’t want the day to end, but it inevitably did as they drifted off to sleep. Last week, I served as a counselor with one of the boys and he has already celebrated five years of helping.

The week before camp, another counselor was showing pictures on Facebook of back when I was a camper. I quickly recognized everyone in all 16 pictures and had flashbacks to stories with them at camp. However, in at least 12 of the pictures most if not all of the faces have gone on to their eternal home.

This week marked my 20^th year at camp, my 13^th as a counselor. The boys I worked with in my cabin weren’t even born when I started as a counselor in 2000. It’s very possible that for some, their parents hadn’t even met by that year. My first year as a camper my dad would have been 36 years old. As a now 60 year old man with salt and pepper hair he helped me to serve the campers as a 35 year old counselor.

In Scripture we read that this life is gone in the blink of an eye. The opportunities we take, or miss, today may be gone tomorrow and before we realize it, the kid with wide eyes staring at us will be serving alongside us.

I’m very thankful God has given me good health and has enabled me to serve all these years. Sometimes the work can be tiresome and I still wonder what year will be my last. If you are given a chance to serve to help others, I recommend taking it while you can. We never know when our dot in history will be over and only memories remain.