“Take your time”
It means two very different things.
When a person or a marketer takes your time, they’re stealing. Something irretrievable is gone. If your time is taken for selfish reasons, if it’s wasted, there’s no good way to get it back.
On the other hand, when you have enough confidence to take your own time, to take your time to be present, to do the work, to engage with what’s in front of you right now, it’s a gift.
This is precisely what time is for.
We’re not in a race to check off as many boxes as we possibly can before we are out of time. Instead, we have the chance to use the time to create moments that matter. Because they connect us, because they open doors, because the moments, added up, create a life.
(Seth Godin,”Take your time.” May 29, 2021.)
In a “time” when everything matters how do you determine what matters most? I’m an old Gen X’er and a version of this question has been part of my conscious existence since the middle 1980’s when I was a college student. The Covid-19 pandemic may have helped some of us answer the question, “when everything matters what matters most?” Did it for you? And yet, as people rush back to time before the pandemic I wonder what we’ve learned? Really.
I think part of our Disciples ethos is that we value the decision making process: how and why. Church Camp, like other camp experiences, is time away. This intentional Christian community develops skills to help people, young and seasoned, determine what matters most and how to live into what matters most. Those skills will develop over time as they continue to practice and participate in the journey of faith. Church camp can be a mountain top experience, but its best work is the subtle and nuanced preparation for living through the valleys of life. This preparation happens in small group conversations, games, hanging out during free time, in prayer, craft time and worship.
You can follow summer camp this year through the Region’s social media (Twitter @ccokdoc, Facebook – Oklahoma Disciples, and Instagram ccokdoc) as well as here at the Region’s website. We may have a podcast episode or two as well.
Thank you for supporting Outdoor ministry (Church Camp) in your congregation and in covenant with the Christian Church in Oklahoma.
