Right now is one of those times I need to be reading, but instead I'm unwinding with some college basketball and a little writing. It's a perfect end to a pretty good day. But days like today always get me thinking and usually make me feel a little (ok, a lot) nostalgic. And by "days like today" I mean a completely blue, beautiful sky and great all around weather, though it was a little too cold to sit outside and read. And when I have "beautiful day" nostalgia (I am just now realizing the incredible opportunity I missed by not singing it with Bono at the top of my lungs with the windows rolled down) I go to one of two places - Malibu or Windy Gap.
Today it was Windy Gap, and I spent most of the day wishing I was sitting at the Sippin' Parlor in one of those big rocking chairs watching the various goings on around the lake...people getting blobbed, people playing disc golf, the ducks swimming, and knowing in all of these instances the gospel is being proclaimed to kids that have maybe never heard it before. And therein lies the beauty of that place - everything about it is a carefully, well thought out, intentional (although not always obvious) way to share the gospel. But I'll get to that later.
What do I miss about it? The beauty of it. I mean, it's up there in the North Carolina mountains. Everything is green. I remember clear days there - the bluest skies and greenest grass I have ever seen. Even on rainy days, it's a peaceful, calm, steady rain that just feels like it's cleansing the earth. On a clear night, you can see more stars than seemingly anywhere else. I always loved the "20 minutes of silence nights" when I got to lie in the grass and look up at the stars and KNOW I was having a conversation with the very God that put them into place. However, one of my fondest memories of Windy Gap came one night, during one of the 20 minute periods everything was turned off, when it was really cloudy. I actually remember being disappointed that the kids (and myself) wouldn't get to see the stars and I remember praying that God would show his glory anyway, and what I saw was the most incredible display of fireflies...well...fireflying that I have ever seen. It was phenomenal...you could see them all over everywhere and I thought about how much God loved us that he would create an insect that lit up like stars for no other reason than the fact that he could. That we could (and should) enjoy it. And then there's the view you get when you hike up the hill and overlook camp. There is nothing like it anywhere. It's great because it's beautiful but also because it reminds me how small I really am.
I miss it because of the memories I have there. Most are some of the fondest memories of my life, a few are very painful memories, but all of them are memories and experiences I can point to as growing experiences. It's the place that the wheels really started turning for what it meant to be a Christian (a process that took years, no doubt, but the process was significantly impacted). It's the place that I fell in love for the first (and only, so far) time. It's the place that I was blasted in the face with the reality that that same love was gone. And in the process of all of that, I learned and grew closer to the love that is greater than every other love - the love Christ has for me. Some of my closest friendships in the entire world were either begun or seriously cultivated there. It also was the place that I started to feel out of place in my situation at the time, if that makes sense. So there are just a lot of emotions that come up when I think about that place and want to be back there - physically and mentally and emotionally and spiritually.
I also miss it because it's literally holy ground. I never thought about it until a friend of mine pointed it out, but literally everywhere you stand on that property, somebody's life has been forever impacted and changed by the gospel. Think about that - where is a place, besides a Young Life camp - everywhere you stand, everywhere you see a person has come from death into life in Christ? (And I mean that seriously - where? Not in the sense that the answer is nowhere else but in the sense that I really want to know. So if you read this I'd love to hear your thoughts). Everything there, as I mentioned before, is specifically designed for the advancement of the gospel. Whether it's something as simple as Christian music playing in the background at the store or the Sippie, or the excellent, joyful service by the Work Crew and Summer Staff, or the way things are really spread out so that you can walk far enough to have great conversation about the beauty around you or the message from the speaker or just life in general during the trip. The gospel is presented in music, in talks, in example...I mean seriously, every way you can imagine. And, in addition to all that, you really get to be a kid again.
All this might sound cheesy. It probably is, and that's fine, because anybody that's been there gets it. It's an experience I wish everyone could have, and one I wish I could have again. And I will because you can go as an adult guest. So...when I have a family...we're so going to Windy Gap.
Just some thoughts,
-chanchan
