Running Out of Time

Messy Monday.
Tired Tuesday.
Weary Wednesday.
Thankful Thursday.
Finally Friday.
Sound familiar?
This is what we used to say during camp. We'd go home hot and tired, and come back knowing that the next day would be a whole 'nother set of exhausting.
But last year,  Bekah, one of the Marshals, decided that we were going to change that. Coming into camp on Weary Wednesday doesn't make you feel very excited, and this is camp. Every day is a special day; why are we treating them negatively? So these are our new names:
Merry Monday
Tenacious Tuesday
Wow Wednesday
Thankful Thursday(this one stays the same no matter what)
FEARLESS Friday.

When you think of Merry, you think of Christmas. Pure joy bubbling over into laughter, all the wonder of what could possibly be inside, shouts of welcome to friends and loved ones. Excitement's in the air, as they say. That's what we want Monday to be like as campers come in.

 

te·na·cious

[təˈnāSHəs]

 

ADJECTIVE

1. tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.
2. not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of action; determined.
3. persisting in existence; not easily dispelled.

Mondays don't always go the way we want them to. It can be hectic. But Tuesday is a whole new day, and we want to go into it with just as much fire and passion as we started with. We hold onto our goal- loving those kids- with tenacity.

 

Hump Day? Not here; it's WOW Wednesday. Wanna know why? Because it's the middle of the week, and by now, we know who our kids are, and we start counseling today. And you know what we believe? That God is going to WOW us. We believe that. And so we're looking, we're looking for what He's going to do today.

 

At the Barn, we have a special tradition. We have Words of Affirmation Wednesday. That afternoon, when everybody is gathered together, we go around the room and say something about someone else that we noticed specifically that was super helpful or encouraging or just plain wonderful. This has become Thankful Thursday, and it is now a camp tradition.

 

Fear. Fear is everywhere, but Satan really hits you hard when you're about to share the Good News with someone else. And Friday- Friday is our last day. The last day with the kids that we've grown to cherish and love deeply. The last day to share the Gospel. So on Friday, we pray that we would be FEARLESS. To share unashamedly.

 

 

This is what the week looks like. It's camp edition, but this is pretty much everyone's week, isn't it? We all have "one of those days", but more often than we realize, "one of those days" become our every day. It just seems like you're getting sucked in, deeper and deeper, into the rush and anxiety and negativity that we call life. And then you come to your senses and it hits you- every day is crazy. Every day is Messy Monday, Weary Wednesday, Struggling Saturday.

But that is no way to live life. Sometimes, there's nothing you can do about the rush and craziness. Sometimes, it's all just you.

I think that people get caught up in the rush and run around like chickens with their head cut off because they feel like they're running out of time. And they are. Human life is like mist. It appears for a little time, and then vanishes. Like grass, which grows and then withers away into dust. In the depth of their souls, people know that they have little time with which to work, little time to make themselves known, and so they run. They run to accomplish what they wish to accomplish, and they stress because they have not yet accomplished it. They don't even know what they want.

But that's not you.

In a world full of rushing and fears and stress...be the person who slows down enough to see other people. Don't be so caught up with your own personal glory that you lose track of what matters. The things we do in this life, they don't make a difference at our end. We're still going to die, our accomplishments won't change that.

But if you're walking when everyone else is running, singing when everyone else is shrieking, taking time where there's none to be had...people are going to notice. They're going to see you smiling through the struggles, and they're going to wonder, "What the heck do they have, that they can be so happy and make such a difference and not worry about it?" And they're going to ask. And you're going to glorify God.

That's what matters.

For me, this is Sunday night. I don't know what day it is for you, but whatever day it is, make an effort to make it positive. Whether you're starting out this week or finishing this week, I pray that you slow down, open your eyes, and see the people. Make today Wow Wednesday. Merry Monday. Thankful Thursday.

All men are like grass. "Are you running out of time, are you running out of time?"

 Yeah. We are.

Slowing down doesn't mean not getting things done. Slowing down means taking the time to do them right. To be meaningful. To make a difference.

 

Thanks for reading.

-Tessa