God used a summer camp called Sooner Bible Camp so much in my life. That’s where you could find me every summer at the beginning of June from fourth through twelfth grade.

As we’d drive down to the camp in Oklahoma, we’d be bouncing up and down in the van watching through the trees for the giant golf ball tower on the campground. Pulling into the driveway, seeing the cabins that looked like little castles, I could feel my heart pulsing in my chest. Sooner was my favorite time of year.

As a camper, God spoke to me every year, and I built meaningful relationships with my counselors and other campers. It always reset my year for me.

As a staffer and counselor, I learned so much about serving the Lord and loving others. There’s no way to encapsulate Sooner Bible Camp in one blog entry. But when I thought about camp and what scriptures stood out to me, God reminded me of something he taught me as a counselor.

Every summer I counseled I fell in love with the campers there. I’d pour into their lives for the week and then go home and write them letters for the year. I loved every moment of it.

But some of the kids came from homes where they experienced pain and neglect. We knew when they went home they’d have little contact with people who loved Jesus. That hurt. Their beautiful hearts, responding eagerly to the truth of Jesus’ love, would be going back to difficult situations.

I struggled to let go. To not feel guilt that I couldn’t keep on caring for them after camp was over.

Then God showed me 2 Timothy 2:19,

But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his.”

I couldn’t go home with my campers but God did. He knew his little ones and he was with them.

This has continued to comfort me through life. I’m a nurturer by personality and would mother hen everybody I come across in life. I’ve discovered I can’t carry that burden on my shoulders. I have to entrust people to God. He knows them and loves them more than I ever could.

How did God use summer camp in your life?