Culture Shock
Who knew one month in the place that you had lived for two years could feel like forever? Who knew that coming back to the state you've called home all your life would be such a crazy adjustment? I never knew the meaning of culture shock until I came home after a summer in the mountains.
Everyone said the summer wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it. But no one said coming back to the real world would be this hard. Leaving my camp family was one of the hardest goodbyes that I have had. After spending three months with the same people, being open and vulnerable with them, and getting to know them inside and out, saying goodbye is not fun. The relationships that I made throughout the summer were some of the best ones that I've ever made and they will last a lifetime.
This summer pushed me in ways that I could not imagine. This summer showed me how to serve wholeheartedly, without complaints and without any reward coming from the act. Honestly before this summer I thought I knew how to serve humbly, but this summer wrecked my world. I learned this summer that comfort is not God's main concern, and he will wreck your world if it's a part of his plan for you. I came into the summer believing that it was just a trip over the summer, a job to learn how to work with kids, I didn't think that it would be as amazing as it was. I was constantly surrounded by 30 other loving people who were constantly encouraging and supportive. I could have never imagined that this past summer would have impacted my life in the ways it did.
Everyone said the summer wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it. But no one said coming back to the real world would be this hard. Leaving my camp family was one of the hardest goodbyes that I have had. After spending three months with the same people, being open and vulnerable with them, and getting to know them inside and out, saying goodbye is not fun. The relationships that I made throughout the summer were some of the best ones that I've ever made and they will last a lifetime.
This summer pushed me in ways that I could not imagine. This summer showed me how to serve wholeheartedly, without complaints and without any reward coming from the act. Honestly before this summer I thought I knew how to serve humbly, but this summer wrecked my world. I learned this summer that comfort is not God's main concern, and he will wreck your world if it's a part of his plan for you. I came into the summer believing that it was just a trip over the summer, a job to learn how to work with kids, I didn't think that it would be as amazing as it was. I was constantly surrounded by 30 other loving people who were constantly encouraging and supportive. I could have never imagined that this past summer would have impacted my life in the ways it did.
Coming back to Emporia was definitely one of the hardest things I've done. I'm gonna be honest with y'all, there was a point that I didn't want to come back. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but the difference between camp and college is enormous. The directors at camp warned us about the "culture shock" we would face when we returned home and they weren't kidding around. At camp, it is such a loving, supportive, encouraging environment and here, well, it's college. After being thrown into reality full force the first week I was back, I was completely shocked about how different the atmosphere in Kansas plains were from the environment that surrounded me in the foothills of the mountains. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't in Glorieta anymore, people were different here, and I wasn't constantly pouring out like I had been all summer at camp. Here, I had other responsibilities and other things that would take up a lot of the time that I dedicated to the Lord and dedicated to sharing the gospel over the summer. Here, I have to find time in my busy schedule to read my bible, to work to find that Christian community, and to stay right with the Lord, it wasn't a given like it is when you spend three months at camp.
Being back in reality allowed me to realize that connecting with God and having a relationship with Him is just like any other relationship, it takes effort and there are times that it won't be easy. Last week I was reading 1 Timothy 6 and came across a few versus that spoke to this cause:
"But you, may of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.... Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
~1 Timothy 6:11-12, 17-19
Christianity is not a passive religion, and we must be active in training, working hard and sacrifice just like anything athletics, membership in organizations, or anything else. What I realized from this passage was that our discipline and obedience to the Lord is what determines whether we are contributors or simply just bystanders to the amazing things God offers us. This is important for me, especially being back in an environment where there are temptations, craziness, and things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Although this place is full of craziness, and chaos, it is the place where I am and I'm learning to just turn this into an opportunity to better myself and share what I've learned this summer and apply it to my life in good ole Emporia, Kansas. It may be a bit more challenging here, and my camp friends might be hundreds of miles away, but sitting here listening to the storm outside the house that I've been blessed to call my home, I've realized that I've been given an amazing opportunity and life is simply amazing.
Being back in reality allowed me to realize that connecting with God and having a relationship with Him is just like any other relationship, it takes effort and there are times that it won't be easy. Last week I was reading 1 Timothy 6 and came across a few versus that spoke to this cause:
"But you, may of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.... Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
~1 Timothy 6:11-12, 17-19
Christianity is not a passive religion, and we must be active in training, working hard and sacrifice just like anything athletics, membership in organizations, or anything else. What I realized from this passage was that our discipline and obedience to the Lord is what determines whether we are contributors or simply just bystanders to the amazing things God offers us. This is important for me, especially being back in an environment where there are temptations, craziness, and things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Although this place is full of craziness, and chaos, it is the place where I am and I'm learning to just turn this into an opportunity to better myself and share what I've learned this summer and apply it to my life in good ole Emporia, Kansas. It may be a bit more challenging here, and my camp friends might be hundreds of miles away, but sitting here listening to the storm outside the house that I've been blessed to call my home, I've realized that I've been given an amazing opportunity and life is simply amazing.
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