Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that
you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous person is
powerful and effective.
~James 5:16
The longer I am at camp the more in love I fall with the women I am sharing my days with. They each have a story. Each story is unique, yet so many similarities are sprinkled throughout each story. Most stories are heartbreaking in the beginning, but almost all stories (not all, but almost) have twisted and turned and found its way to happy. Redemption is a beautiful thing. It is glorious when God allows you to witness these things. In reality, we can all witness miracles each day. The tricky part is looking for these miracles. My time at camp taught me how to expect the unexpected, how to recognize God's amazing works, how to be still and marvel at just how mighty our God is.
When I reflect on the 30 days I spent at camp, my heart genuinely feels happy. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. I missed my family so much while I was away. Away without out visitors, because everyone that loved me on the outside was in another state 14 hours away. However, the friends I made loved me, supported me and challenged me each day. The friendships I found there are life long, they are true, they are beautiful and they are unlikely. I would have never associated with these amazing, strong, broken, redeemed, lost and then found, crazy at times, full of love, forgiven women if it had not been for camp. I am grateful to know them and to know their stories. I truly feel blessed.
When I first met my campmates, the vast majority of them were not believers. Colorado is a state with a large atheist culture. Such a gorgeous state full of God's master pieces and so many non-believers. I would actually go so far as to call them refusers to believers. I can assure you that when I left camp, every woman that was there knew who God was and knew how to have Him as their Savior and knew of how many good things He had done for me. They would chuckle about the DA getting a new job, I wasn't the only one happy about that one. Funny side note, he has since gone back to being a DA in that town. God is just good that way. They would ask question after question about when God spoke to me. We talked about their past and their future. We talked about being royalty, as daughter's of the most high King! We talked about new beginnings, redemption, God's plans for all of us! It was so fun to watch the light go on and them come to know my sweet Father in heaven. Not everyone had accepted Him as their Savior when I left, but the seed had been planted.
Camper B1 was a beautiful woman. She could have easily been a model, tall and slender, long blonde hair, poise. She had so much to offer, yet saw so little value in herself. She had been in and out of prison. Had her #6 baby while in prison. Had been in trouble for drugs and all sorts of crimes that are associated with that. She has 6 children and at the time, custody of none of them. She loved her children with everything she had, but on her own was never able to stay clean and sober long enough to fight for them. It wasn't long after we became friends that she prayed the sinners pray and asked Jesus into her heart. You could instantly see a change in her. One night she was supposed to be able to call her children. When her ex-husband answered the phone he refused to let her speak to the kids. For whatever reason (the enemy), he was being unusually cruel and verbally abusive to her. She became angry and frustrated and started pounding her fist on the phone and yelling quite loudly. When you are at camp, this type of behavior is not at all acceptable and lands all campers locked down in their cells for a period of time. The deputy came to camper B1's cell and asked her to come and talk with him at the table in the middle of the common area. She did as he asked. This deputy was very kind and truly had everyone's best interest at heart. He asked her if he could do anything to make her night better. I think he was expecting her to say an ice cream or a soda would be nice, as she did not have any family members that put money on her books for such treats. She responded to his question by asking if he would let me out of my cell as well, so we could pray. She told him she knew her behavior was unacceptable and that she was sorry. All she wanted to do was pray with her friend. When the deputy came to my door, he told me that he has never had a request like this before and didn't really know how the rules worked with this request. He stated "I'm not sure what the rules are for letting another inmate out during lock down, but this is the best answer I have ever had to a question of what can I do to make it better. Lisa, I don't know what it is about you, but you have changed the atmosphere in this pod and I am not going to do anything to stand in the way of positive change. So, go out and pray with this girl." I was quick to tell him "It isn't me, it's who I brought with me. I told him that God and I had a deal and we were doing this thing together." He replied "I haven't ever seen anyone that could show me God, but you have. Seeing things goes a lot further than hearing them." I was so touched by his words. So glad that God and I had made a deal one night with me sprawled out on my bathroom floor. So thankful that with His strength I was able to stand strong. In my weakness, He was strong. I later found out that the deputy is now a believer. He was born again and I believe he will carry Jesus with him up and down those halls. Camper B1 did have to do some time in prison again. She is still fighting for custody of her children. She now walks with her head a little higher and her heart a little lighter. She knows full well God's good and perfect plans for her life. We often prayed that the path He has for her would be so well lit that she couldn't miss it. That if she got off His path, she would know, as the darkness would overshadow the light. If she stepped off into darkness, we prayed that His beacons would point her back to her path. The path He designed specifically for her. Camper B1 also taught me about truly loving things. She always said that we tend to say we love things too easily. We love cake, we love this movie or that shirt, we love things that can never love us back. She said when she really loves something, such as her family or friends, she says she love loves them. It's just a way to put true meaning into the words I love you! My family has said LoveLove (or sometimes lovelovelove) from the moment I shared this with them. It's a nice reminder of truly loving each other.
Camper S had a long and very ugly past to be such a young girl. As with so many others, drugs and crimes related to drugs had entangled her at a very young age. Her latest stay at camp was because she was in a hotel room that was raided and she and her boyfriend decided to hide their drugs in their infant's diaper. Yes, her infant was in a hotel room where drug deals and drug use were going down. Her best idea when the cops came into the room was to hide unwrapped drugs in her infant's diaper. Drugs that would seep into his system and cause him to be hospitalized. Drugs that would cause this poor little innocent child to go through withdrawal. Her remorse was great, but a little late. But...... forgiveness and redemption were hers for the taking. She was able to work through so many things. She too found Jesus at camp. She had many slips and falls over the next several years, but I am so proud to report that she has been clean and sober for more than 2 years!! She has reconnected with her mother, has her son back and has a little girl. Her life is still full of peaks and valleys, but she knows Jesus and she knows how to cope by running to Him instead of drugs.
I can tell you story after story of these friends I have made. Most stories are of new life and restoration. There are a few tragic stories, stories that break my heart. Stories that have caused me to mourn at such a deep level, only God can give me peace. All the stories are from unlikely friends. Friends that I talk to on a weekly basis. Friends that are in my prayers every single day. Friends that Jesus and I met at camp. Friends that I love with all my heart. Friends that changed my life.
Be thankful in all things!
God is always up to something good!
He can turn ugly into radiant!
It is fun to be royalty.
Lovelove the things that matter.
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