I was awakened with a start - a rather rude start, to be sure. A little before 4 a.m. my right hamstring tightened in one of the worst muscle cramps I have had in years. It eased fairly quickly, but then smacked me again. It finally went away and stayed away, but my body was so keyed, it was impossible to get back to sleep. So I got up.
I walked around the campgrounds near the cabin. It was too dark to see anything, though. I was really thankful that Michelle (Children’s Minister) had a Keurig machine set up in the meeting room. I poured myself a cup of coffee - wait. You can’t say that any more. I did no pouring. All I did was … umm … push-button me a cup? The coffee was much appreciated, however you say it nowadays.
Daniel and the mysterious J (he just goes by J. You know. It’s a Men in Black thing. At least I think so. Last thing I remember from our conversation is this cool pen he was showing me …) finally joined me, and we had our morningly “staff meeting.” That’s means we just drank coffee and chatted, killing time until 7. Wake-up time.
And that was my cue. Now, I had introduced the boys to the glories of my singing and the camp cult classic, “I’m a Nut” the day before. But this time I had completed “the rest of the story.” Unbeknownst to them, I had made mention of each of them in one of the new verses. Talk about surprised faces. Priceless. And J followed me on my rounds, recording the action on his phone camera. That one will live in infamy. Now, lest ye think that I was showing male favoritism, I then stood at the door to the girls dorm and serenaded them with nutty deliciousness as well. By the time I finished, several of them had made their way into the common room to hear it all. So much fun when it’s the first time.
Well, after breakfast and the last morning celebration (our blue rec team came in dead last, but we take credit for re-inventing the water game), we said our goodbyes, loaded onto the bus (or in our case, the car), and headed for Waco. The kids were ready to get back home (although an unofficial Daniel Poll revealed that about half of them would be happy to stay another two days. The other half wanted to see Mommy or Daddy or, in most cases, the family pet).
Fast forward an hour or so. Back at the church, we took a group picture by the bus, then some parents may or may not have been attacked with fierce hugs and kisses. Welcome Home.
But … not for us quite yet. We still had a four and a half hour drive ahead of us. And of course four and a half turned into five. And five to five and a half. Why? Downtown Houston. We even took the suggested routes down through the side streets. We plowed through, though. We got Noa to her house around five. And then, on to Galveston to prep for the next tropical storm forming in the Gulf.
Hebrews 4:9 says, Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.
Father, thank you for a great week with some great kiddos. Help them remember the lessons learned and follow through with the connections and commitments made. Amen.
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