Back in 2007, I spent an entire summer working at United Christian Youth Camp in Prescott as a summer staff. Aaron and I had broken up the previous summer, and I had spent the last year growing in my relationship with God and discovering who He made me to be. I have to say, working at UCYC was the best summer of my life thus far. I had found my niche, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The summer, however, ended. I went home, reunited with Aaron, did a year in college before realizing I didn't know what I wanted to study, but I knew who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Aaron and I married the summer of 2008 and began our life together. It was an adventure, full of excitement and learning! And yet... still it felt like a part of my heart had been left up in Prescott at UCYC. For years, literally YEARS after, it felt like a part of me was missing, and I knew exactly where it was, it just wasn't where God had me at the moment.
A few years went by, and still this dream burned and ached in my heart. There were SO many dreams between Aaron and I, I didn't know how they would all come to pass in our one lifetime, but I trusted them to God. I had asked Him over and over to take the ache out of my heart, but He never did. I knew this dream was from God, so I nurtured it, though it seemed impossible to accomplish. I would follow Him step by step and leave the impossible to Him.
Somewhere along the line, God gave me a passion for family. Maybe it's because of how I was brought up, my family has always been huge and everyone always gets along with everyone. When someone falls, there was an array of hands to choose from to help them back up. Maybe it's because, working in the youth and children's ministry, I had seen what resulted when a child lacked family. They were rebellious, but because they were hurting and insecure. They acted out, but because they wanted someone to notice them. They didn't love God, because mom and dad never taught them. It broke my heart! The older I get, the more I realize just how blessed I am by my family. I decided, when God gives me this camp to run, I want to use it to reach hurting kids, maybe even their paretns and family.
Then it hit me! This is EXACTLY what my best friend has wanted to do since before I met her at 15 years old! She had ALWAYS talked about having a horse ranch and getting at-risk kids around horses, camping, and God! Could it really be that God brought us together to do this? It's almost too good to be true! I love the outdoors, she loves horses, our husbands love music, my husband loves art! There are so many different mediums in which we, together, could reach out to kids. I was super excited and when I brought it up to my friend, she said she had been thinking we'd do this together too!
Step by step, we continued to follow the Lord. He called her husband into the Air Force in Mississippi. He called Aaron and I to The Well in Utah. In less than a month, we will be in Utah and they will be in Mississippi. So far away... And still we carry this seed in our heart. Still just a little seed, taking in nutrients, putting out roots, pushing up, up, up to the sunlight. We are apart, but where the Lord wants us. We are learning, growing, gaining skills, and touching lives along the way. Our dream may not have broken the surface yet, but we do God's work. No matter what stage we go through, we can ALWAYS make a difference. We can ALWAYS reach out. This is God's will, this is how He teaches us, this is how we are prepared, by simply doing the work. Though our dream is just a seed, we put our whole heart into the work God has set before us, because this is part of our dream too.
Then at last, one glorious day, this dream will break through the dirt! It will see the dazzling sunlight and grow and grow. It will be a huge protective tree! Many people will rest in its shade, eat its fruit, and from the fruit they will find seeds, their own dreams to reach out and make a difference in people's lives.
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