Lessons of Love

I'd like to share with you a few brief lessons I have learned from my first year of marriage. Keep in mind, I'm only twenty. My experiences are microscopic when compared to those of someone who has been around longer. Also, remember that me and my husband are 100% imperfect!

The first thing I learned from marriage was… I cannot rely on my husband if I haven't first relied on Christ. Aaron and I had the unique experience of spending the first three months of our marriage living in travel trailer at a Christian camp in the Black Hills. Let me tell you. Starting your marriage in a cramped camper makes getting used to living with each other happen really fast! It was incredibly hard as a recently independent collage girl to learn to share my life honestly with my husband. When something with my job didn't go according to plan, I often wanted to bottle it up. Aaron, however, had other plans. He helped me realize my struggles are his struggles, and our struggles are God's struggles. I am only able to have complete faith in my husband, because I have complete faith in my Savior.

The second thing I learned from marriage was... if something was going wrong, we needed to be there for each other. We needed to show up for our new marriage in ways that were very different from when we dated. When we became frustrated with each other, we could not hang up a phone and each go our separate ways to calm down. We had to lay it all out on the table, come to a conclusion, and move on together. The most valuable lesson we learned was to fight like Christ. Stay with me, I'll explain. In the Bible, when someone disagreed with Jesus, did Jesus yell? Did Jesus belittle others? No! So, learning to calmly work through our differences was wonderful. We were finally able to have conversations that would have been impossible before.

The third thing I learned from marriage was…it is SO important to encourage and support each other! We have had to make some tough decisions this year. I know that if Aaron hadn't been right beside me making those decisions, we wouldn't have been able to move forward!

I know I am not any kind of marriage expert! Hopefully this is a good start to many great years to come!

Here They Come

Tomorrow begins my last session as a summer camp counselor for the year. I can honestly say I've learned so much, so I'd like to take a minute to reflect.

1) The first thing I learned this summer was to think on my feet. I've never been in a situation before where the lives of thirteen six and seven year old boys rely on me. There was no time for adjustment. I needed to step up to the plate and quickly. After three two week camp sessions, I can say that the group management still does not come easy to me. BUT, I have learned so many ways to gain my campers attention and trust. I can sing hundreds of dorky camp songs as well as every Disney song known to man. I can tell crazy ridiculous stories that help calm down any situation from scrapped knees to fights. I can call our group name loudly and every little head will turn and look at me. All these things sound so silly in type, but by letting go of my inhibitions I was able to gain amazing relationships with my kiddos. There is freedom in knowing, I DO NOT ALWAYS NEED TO BE IN CONTROL!

2) I learned to let go of my pride. There is NO pride in cleaning up twelve plates of milky applause that has been dumped all over your lunch table and shoes. Learning to just accept the unglamorous parts of my job ultimately made the entire experience so much better. I had to realize very quickly that I was not the best counselor nor could I handle every situation on my on. The first time I had to humble myself and go the directors for help, I realized a very important lesson. I CAN'T DO THINGS IN LIFE ON MY OWN!

3) Lastly, I learned that my campers frequently teach me more then I could ever teach them. One especially hard day at camp, I ended up having to sit my entire group down and firmly threaten to take away their campers choice time because of their behavior. I was frustrated and almost lost my temper with them. When one refused to listen, I threw my hands up and started to walk away so I wouldn't say anything I'd regret. They quickly stood up and followed me in silence. A few moments into our walk of silence, they began to quietly tap me on the back. I turned around completely ready to blow to see that each of them had picked a dandelion or leaf of the ground. Each kiddo offered me their little flower, and my heart melted. I realized that that heart of a child is so pure. My surrender helped me see, IT IS OKAY TO HAVE A BAD DAY.

I am so incredibly great full for my time as a camp counselor. God has shown me over and over again, that He will be there in hard situation as well as in joyful moments.