I was really excited about going to high school camp this summer! It is a time when I could get to know my students on a more personal level. There was a particular student, Shannon*, that I was excited to spend some more time with. I had a relationship with her, we had spent the whole year getting to know each other but there was still a distance between us for some reason and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.
After spending some time with her, I found out that Shannon had a secret that she was afraid to tell me. She wondered if I knew about this thing in her life, if I would still care about her. At camp she finally worked up the courage to tell me. We always tell our students that we love them no matter what, but sometimes it takes a hard discussion like this one to really prove to them that we mean what we say.
It is a good way for them to see Jesus’ love for them in action. He loves us in our mess and in our hiding. We don’t have to clean up before we come to him. She needed to see that I would love her in her mess too and she felt relieved to get this secret off her chest. This is what camp and YFC ministry is all about, building deeper relationships and showing students that we care no matter what!
*Name changed to protect the student
