Those are the words I spoke to Hannah*, one of our female campers, at this year’s High School camp. She was an emotional roller coaster all week during camp, one night she was mad at everyone. Mad at people she didn’t even know. I finally told her that if she wanted to be able to enjoy camp that week, she needed to let me in on what was making her so angry. That night, Hannah* finally broke down in the cabin and let me in. She shared about her past, her struggles with substance abuse, and abuse from her family that she is no longer with. A big issue for her was her self-esteem, due to all of the trauma that had happened to her. She felt ugly, worthless.
Once Hannah opened up, I began telling her part of my story and how Jesus changed me. Through this conversation, I was able to share Psalm 139 with her, and tell her what God thinks of her. I told her over and over again that she is not a mistake, and that God doesn’t make mistakes. I told her that she is beautiful because God created her. I asked her if she believed me and she said no. I continued to let her in and told her more of my story and again, found some connections between our stories and how it all connects to God’s story. Eventually, Hannah* began to see the connections we shared and I could tell that she was beginning to believe that maybe God doesn’t make mistakes after all!
