I Hear Georgia is Nice This Time of Year
Making decisions normally stresses people out.
A lot.
Especially big decisions.
It makes sense. You don’t want to do something, only to regret it soon after. It’s best to evaluate it, think it over, and see if that decision really is the best course of action. Prudence. It’s a wonderful thing.
But…
Then there are people like myself.
I’m the type who makes decisions on the fly, even the large ones, and hopes it works out. I trust that it will, and God always finds a way to work with what I give him. For me, I go with my gut. If I feel like I should do it, I do. Examples? My job I am working now, the car I drive, the house I’m living in. All, “Sure, that should work out” decisions.
The example I want to talk about though – Covecrest.
So…
I had been wanting to work at Camp for the last two summers, but didn’t because I
1) missed the deadline the first summer and
2) Chose to take an Internship instead of working Hidden Lake last summer
This year though? I wanted to travel to Europe! I wanted to work in Medjugorje, the most peaceful place I’ve ever been. They have a castle there that houses priests, religious and college students, and I wanted to volunteer there. I had all the forms and stuff. But then I remembered Camp.
I still wanted to do Camp.
I then found myself applying the weekend before the deadline arrived.
I then had an interview, and then received a call.
I then humbly accepted.
I didn’t have a job, or any idea what I was doing after school, but I knew camp would be fun, and so, I decided that I would go. It wasn’t a long drawn out process. Just a day where I longed to be there (a place I didn’t actually know, but had only heard about) and that was enough. I applied and I knew God wanted me there.
SIDE NOTE – Believe me, the Devil didn’t want me here, and he made that apparent. He even tried putting good things in front of me, in hopes that I never saw those Georgia hills. Even with my job I took, they asked me when I could work. I said the end of June – they wanted someone mid May. It would have been easy to drop camp and go straight to work. But I knew in my heart God wanted me here, so I resisted offering that to my current employers. I had a feeling God would make both work out. And of course, he did. I had the job offered to me, and of course, accepted right away (Not the sit and discern type normally). And they of course said I didn’t need to start till July.
Anyways.
Then I got to camp…
I might have told some of you this, but I realized only when I got to camp that I had no real reason to be there, minus the selfish ones.
I was there for me.
I wanted to grow closer to God and make new friends. That is why I was at camp. It wasn’t for teens, or to work, or to serve. It was to make more friends and hang out.
Then we had work week…
Wait, there is work involved, I thought to myself. I actually got mad. Mad that camp couldn’t have had this stuff already prepared, mad that they didn’t let us sleep in the first day we arrived, mad I didn’t get to choose my own schedule.
Then day three or four hit. I was sick of being mad, asking God why I was there, blah, blah, blah. I started to love the work.
Well…
I don’t think I’ll ever love manual labor, or that type of work, but I loved the mission of the work. I loved the idea of setting up a camp for these kids, working along side my brothers and sisters, and serving.
I love serving; anyone who does it long enough loves serving. God designed it that way! When we give of ourselves, God gives us so much more back. But now I found myself loving a type of service I had always hated, the manual labor side.
Then we had orientation week, training week. Once again I was mad at times, mad we had to go and listen to loads of talks, follow a schedule, etc. I just wanted to hang out with my brothers and sisters, pray with them, get to know them. Socialize. This orientation though? What good was it?
But then we had the talks at night. I cried every night. I kid you not. During those first two weeks, I cried almost every day. And it wasn’t tears of sadness or frustration. No, it was tears of joy, tears of beauty. I was crying because of the glory of God.
Once again, God was changing me. God 2. BrenGott 0. Typical.
And then came the campers…
Each week was different, and held its own obstacles, but it was awesome.
I. Me. Myself.
Yeah, didn’t do anything. I was worthless.
But God, through my brothers and sisters, and humbly through me?
Yeah, he killed it.
God killed it.
Weird way to phrase it, but I mean Killed it! He killed the hundreds of teens that came to Covecrest, and had them be reborn!
We all know it – it’s near impossible to spend that much time with the Lord and not be moved. He was AWEsome and I am so much better for it. He wrecked me just like he wrecked those kids, telling me how much he desires me to give myself fully over to him.
He made me realize I was at camp for ME, but also to be used as His hands and feet. Believe me, I know how unworthy I am. As my friend Daniel said it best, “I’m really good at sinning.” Well, I am in that boat as well. But God works with that. And I know I’m not the best with teens, or the best at striking conversations with random kids. I like older people better; I relate better with them. But that didn’t matter. God still used me. He knew my deficiencies and said, you’ll do fine. And I was humbled, and I learned a lot. Watching you all taught me so much, especially in the areas I struggled at.
It was arguable the best six weeks of my life.
And now Camp Life is a thing of the past.
It’s over.
I can't go back to those six weeks.
But.
that’s.
the.
point.
I'm not supposed to! I'm called to greater things! We're called to greater things! You, me, we’re called to be SAINTS!
Camp was a six week prep course for building a personal prayer life that I can continue. We focused on the best thing possible – the Eucharist! Now it is time to take that with me and continue to follow that calling.
That first week back sucked. I missed my family at the Cove. I was home and was picking up old habits I thought I was through with. Laziness was back at the forefront.
But then God sent me to Virginia, and not a moment too soon.
He placed me in a Diocese that is truly faithful, following the Church as best it can. He placed me in a job that is centered around the faith, centered around achieving Holiness in the most practical ways. He gave me a new family who is praying for me daily, and one that I pray for daily as well.
And most importantly, he gives me a gift that is always there for the taking, which is Christ himself. His most precious Body and Blood, freely given at the table.
For this I am most thankful.
To all who took the time to read this, I love you all so much. I want you to know that. I can’t tell you enough. I love you so very much.
But He loves us so much more. And man oh man, how lucky are we for that!
In conclusion, I know I just wrote a book. I love writing, so that’s no surprise. But it’s only because I love our God, I love you, and I can’t wait to be in Heaven with all of you one day.
"He died for me, so I will live for Him."
A lot.
Especially big decisions.
It makes sense. You don’t want to do something, only to regret it soon after. It’s best to evaluate it, think it over, and see if that decision really is the best course of action. Prudence. It’s a wonderful thing.
But…
Then there are people like myself.
I’m the type who makes decisions on the fly, even the large ones, and hopes it works out. I trust that it will, and God always finds a way to work with what I give him. For me, I go with my gut. If I feel like I should do it, I do. Examples? My job I am working now, the car I drive, the house I’m living in. All, “Sure, that should work out” decisions.
The example I want to talk about though – Covecrest.
So…
I had been wanting to work at Camp for the last two summers, but didn’t because I
1) missed the deadline the first summer and
2) Chose to take an Internship instead of working Hidden Lake last summer
This year though? I wanted to travel to Europe! I wanted to work in Medjugorje, the most peaceful place I’ve ever been. They have a castle there that houses priests, religious and college students, and I wanted to volunteer there. I had all the forms and stuff. But then I remembered Camp.
I still wanted to do Camp.
I then found myself applying the weekend before the deadline arrived.
I then had an interview, and then received a call.
I then humbly accepted.
I didn’t have a job, or any idea what I was doing after school, but I knew camp would be fun, and so, I decided that I would go. It wasn’t a long drawn out process. Just a day where I longed to be there (a place I didn’t actually know, but had only heard about) and that was enough. I applied and I knew God wanted me there.
SIDE NOTE – Believe me, the Devil didn’t want me here, and he made that apparent. He even tried putting good things in front of me, in hopes that I never saw those Georgia hills. Even with my job I took, they asked me when I could work. I said the end of June – they wanted someone mid May. It would have been easy to drop camp and go straight to work. But I knew in my heart God wanted me here, so I resisted offering that to my current employers. I had a feeling God would make both work out. And of course, he did. I had the job offered to me, and of course, accepted right away (Not the sit and discern type normally). And they of course said I didn’t need to start till July.
Anyways.
Then I got to camp…
I might have told some of you this, but I realized only when I got to camp that I had no real reason to be there, minus the selfish ones.
I was there for me.
I wanted to grow closer to God and make new friends. That is why I was at camp. It wasn’t for teens, or to work, or to serve. It was to make more friends and hang out.
Then we had work week…
Wait, there is work involved, I thought to myself. I actually got mad. Mad that camp couldn’t have had this stuff already prepared, mad that they didn’t let us sleep in the first day we arrived, mad I didn’t get to choose my own schedule.
Then day three or four hit. I was sick of being mad, asking God why I was there, blah, blah, blah. I started to love the work.
Well…
I don’t think I’ll ever love manual labor, or that type of work, but I loved the mission of the work. I loved the idea of setting up a camp for these kids, working along side my brothers and sisters, and serving.
I love serving; anyone who does it long enough loves serving. God designed it that way! When we give of ourselves, God gives us so much more back. But now I found myself loving a type of service I had always hated, the manual labor side.
Then we had orientation week, training week. Once again I was mad at times, mad we had to go and listen to loads of talks, follow a schedule, etc. I just wanted to hang out with my brothers and sisters, pray with them, get to know them. Socialize. This orientation though? What good was it?
But then we had the talks at night. I cried every night. I kid you not. During those first two weeks, I cried almost every day. And it wasn’t tears of sadness or frustration. No, it was tears of joy, tears of beauty. I was crying because of the glory of God.
Once again, God was changing me. God 2. BrenGott 0. Typical.
And then came the campers…
Each week was different, and held its own obstacles, but it was awesome.
I. Me. Myself.
Yeah, didn’t do anything. I was worthless.
But God, through my brothers and sisters, and humbly through me?
Yeah, he killed it.
God killed it.
Weird way to phrase it, but I mean Killed it! He killed the hundreds of teens that came to Covecrest, and had them be reborn!
We all know it – it’s near impossible to spend that much time with the Lord and not be moved. He was AWEsome and I am so much better for it. He wrecked me just like he wrecked those kids, telling me how much he desires me to give myself fully over to him.
He made me realize I was at camp for ME, but also to be used as His hands and feet. Believe me, I know how unworthy I am. As my friend Daniel said it best, “I’m really good at sinning.” Well, I am in that boat as well. But God works with that. And I know I’m not the best with teens, or the best at striking conversations with random kids. I like older people better; I relate better with them. But that didn’t matter. God still used me. He knew my deficiencies and said, you’ll do fine. And I was humbled, and I learned a lot. Watching you all taught me so much, especially in the areas I struggled at.
It was arguable the best six weeks of my life.
And now Camp Life is a thing of the past.
It’s over.
I can't go back to those six weeks.
But.
that’s.
the.
point.
I'm not supposed to! I'm called to greater things! We're called to greater things! You, me, we’re called to be SAINTS!
Camp was a six week prep course for building a personal prayer life that I can continue. We focused on the best thing possible – the Eucharist! Now it is time to take that with me and continue to follow that calling.
That first week back sucked. I missed my family at the Cove. I was home and was picking up old habits I thought I was through with. Laziness was back at the forefront.
But then God sent me to Virginia, and not a moment too soon.
He placed me in a Diocese that is truly faithful, following the Church as best it can. He placed me in a job that is centered around the faith, centered around achieving Holiness in the most practical ways. He gave me a new family who is praying for me daily, and one that I pray for daily as well.
And most importantly, he gives me a gift that is always there for the taking, which is Christ himself. His most precious Body and Blood, freely given at the table.
For this I am most thankful.
To all who took the time to read this, I love you all so much. I want you to know that. I can’t tell you enough. I love you so very much.
But He loves us so much more. And man oh man, how lucky are we for that!
In conclusion, I know I just wrote a book. I love writing, so that’s no surprise. But it’s only because I love our God, I love you, and I can’t wait to be in Heaven with all of you one day.
Totus Tuus Maria
and above all else –
God Alone.
"He died for me, so I will live for Him."
