Lessons I Learned At Kids Camp

During this past week at kids camp I sure learned a lot or at least was reminded of many things that I had forgotten about. And so during the week and as the days went by, I began to take some mental notes on what lessons children, God’s children could teach me.

So yesterday on the way home I ask Keeley what she had gleaned during her week as a Coach for kids camp and what did she learn about kids. The following is a sampling of what Keeley learned.

1) No matter how much you tell them, kids just CAN’T BE quiet.

2) Even though they are young and don’t understand a lot, they have so much love for God.

3) They like to have fun and be happy all the time.

4) They are very Blunt and always make sure you know exactly what they think.

5) They always crave your attention and want to please you.

6) Children are the most loving people on earth.

Matt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. (NIV)

I am convinced that there are some things that I have forgotten about that perhaps we need to relearn as adults that children as we watch them can teach us.

I LEARNED THAT KIDS ARE FOLLOWERS AND THEY WANT TO FOLLOW GOD AND THEIR PARENTS:

Every time I go to a camp or on a trip with kids, I see so many traits of those children’s moms and dads. I watched Marissa yesterday trying to pick from the Braum’s menu what to buy. She wasn’t just looking she was intent. She was shopping for the best value and the deal, and she was studying that like it was an element chart in advanced placement high school science.

Children want some one to show them the way through this life. They depend greatly upon us as parents to show them that. What should I wear? Should they be my friend? Where should I go? What should I think about that?

They are very teachable. I heard a statistic one time that said children learn more new things their first 12 years of life than an adult from 13 on up will learn. They learn their ABC, to talk, to walk, to run, to think….and the rest of our adult life we are just expounding on what was established in those formative years.

So kids taught me that I need to be more teachable. How about you? Kids teach me that I need to be pliable and putty in God’s hands. How about you?

Let me tell you briefly something about me and about you. The older we get the more inflexible we get. Starting at the age of about 30 my doctor told me that unless I do stretching exercising that I begin to lose my flexibility. I you don’t believe me stand up and touch your toes with or without bending your knees. Lol.

This week the camp called me just as we were leaving and told me I would be running the Cafeteria instead of being a councilor, because they had no one else to do it. So I did it. The first day I had 4 ladies with me 3 of which were older than I. From the moment they hit the door I thought it was going to be a long week. There was complaining and whining the first day that I had not heard before. They just wanted to come down there and pray for their kids in the altar, by the end of the week one of them was in the hospital with chest pains. Pray for her.

Then I had three boys help, one in high school, and two in college. They didn’t say a word, they were summer help they weren’t getting paid, and all they wanted to do was know what to do, and then they did it.

We adults become inflexible, I need air-conditioning, warm bed, fluffy pillow, big chair, and comforts and then I might be willing to bend a little. We sometimes become that way in our heart. I don’t want God to move like that in my life, that’s different than what I am use to. I don’t like that because it’s a change. I like the way it was and is and shall ever more be.

BE FLEXIBLE! Let God move when He wants to move, how he wants to move and lets move with him. With Him not against Him.

The children of Israel were a bunch of whiners, complainer, and belly achers and God said, I’ll raise up another generation and use them. Have you read the O.T.?