NOT THE FAVORITE BUT THE BEST

I had the pleasure and advantage of working at the same camp for 25 years.  I say pleasure because when I was in third grade I went away to camp and when I came home from that week I knew what I wanted to be for the rest of my life…a camp counselor.  I say advantage because I got to see the fruit of my labor, as kids that were my campers grew up to be my staff, and then became parents of children who became my campers.

I was raised in a military family with a lot of rules and order.  That built in me a strong philosophy that real freedom and fun was to be had when the rules were obeyed and the order was kept.  I learned this the hard way through trial and error, through bumps and bruises, and even a few stitches in my chin.  I eventually found that the less rebellious I became the more free I actually was.  Of course, these kinds of lessons are learned best by actual experience so there must be room for rebellion and disobedience for kids to express themselves, within safe boundaries.  That is what camp provides.

I had one camper who expressed this attitude a lot and would let me know often that I was not her favorite counselor.  As the camper aged and became a counselor herself, she came to me in an attitude of quiet repentance and said that now she understood me better.  She had a few campers who were just like her and she found herself being just like I was to her.  She told me, “You were not my favorite counselor, but you were the best counselor I had.  I accepted the compliment graciously with a smile and watched her grow into an excellent counselor.

As a child of God I believe there is a divine and natural order to life and I believe that God provides clear and simple instructions to live life in that divine and natural order.  For me, throwing off the shackles of laws and instruction is not true freedom.  Freedom comes from being yoked with the Master teacher and fulfiller of those laws and instructions, and seeking teachers who are yoked and in alignment with him. 

It is my hope and my prayer that those who are called and accept the responsibility of teaching the things of God will not be concerned so much about being the most popular and favorite, but will want to be the best for the people they teach.