“Okay guys, it’s time to settle down.”


How many times have I said that to campers already this camp season? Let’s just say too many! Parents, I’m sure you know more than anyone what I’m talking about. Campers, being young boys, love to have FUN. But, when you put them in the environment we create at hockey camp, they take FUN to a whole new level. Loud noise and laughs are a common sound at camp. Yet, there comes a time when they have to settle down. The campers have to bring it down a notch in order to get something from the activitiy, whether it be chapel, huddle, or bed time. They don’t always appreciate being told to calm down, but it really is for their best interest (and the staff’s interest...um, I mean sanity...as well).


As I think about this idea though, I feel hypocritical. Not that I am bouncing off walls or disrupting speakers and such, but I need to tell myself to settle down more often. I think as a society we all have to. On a personal level, God has opened many doors this summer, things that require a lot of time and energy. I made up my schedule and looking at it I realize it really is a crazy summer full of activities going from camp to camp to camp. When I see this schedule, I become very anxious and think to myself, “Did I really book myself into all of this?” I sometimes feel small and undeserving of all that’s on my plate. I am at times left a little scared if I have enough in the tank to make it through the summer.

The problem with all of this, however, is a focus too much on my own world and own capabilities. As chaos looms, I become frantic and unsure of what to do. The situation seems too big. Does this describe you? How often do you feel overwhelmed in the midst of chaos? We are so quick to fill our lives with busyness convinced it is the right thing to do. Then, in the busyness we begin to feel drained and hopeless.


While I don’t always see busyness as a bad thing, I do think it has taken too much priority in our lives today. I look at my own summer and know that although it isn’t easy, it what God has called me to do. Yet, in the midst of this, I know that I need to settle down; I have to be still. As hustle and bustle people we love to move. We always have something going, and we always need to be doing something. Mostly, we just want to be in control and letting that go is scary. Through it all, we need to learn to be still.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

BE STILL...and know that I am God.

Nothing I have done, nothing you have done was in your doing. Quite frankly when I said I feel small and undeserving, that is to a degree how I should feel! For this is the proper place where I can realize that God is indeed God and I am not. He is the one in control, not us. He is the one that gives us breath and life and skills and abilities so that we may take advantage of the opportunities that He has created for us in order to bring Him glory. So as I run to my next destination, I have to remind myself to be still, and that God is God. In everything I do, acknowledge Him and know He is in control. I pray that in the midst of your busyness you can do the same.


Until next time,

The Intern

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