Guest Post: Seeing God in All

We have another GREAT guest post today from one of our counselors, Katie. It goes along perfectly with the Devotion today by Sandi Taylor about following Jesus after you come home from camp. Enjoy this post from Katie!

After two summers working on staff at Greystone, I can truly say that I do not know where I would be today without my camp experience. My name is Katie Moran, I am from Charlotte, and I am a junior at Vanderbilt University. However, I am currently studying abroad for a semester in Barcelona, Spain!! As much as I love living and traveling in Europe, I miss Greystone and my camp friends all the time, and I look back on this summer with such fond memories.

Looking back on the summer, the obvious things that come to mind are the great campers and counselors, Cabin 11 West, fun at High Adventure, awesome evening programs, and lots and lots of rain! Being abroad, however, I am remembering so much more than the fun things I did at camp. More importantly, I am realizing just how impactful this summer was on my life and how formative it was in my faith. Greystone is a fabulous little bubble of happiness where life is always fun and campers and counselors are constantly loved and encouraged in their faith. However, as much as we wish it could be, the real world is just not the same.

Working at Greystone grounded my faith by teaching me practices that equipped me for real life away from camp—even all the way in Barcelona! I was nervous to come abroad after being at camp all summer because I worried that I would not have a Christian community or any way of being fed spiritually. I quickly realized that I learned so much at camp that prepared me for this journey outside the Christian bubble, such as how to prioritize quiet time or how to see the beauty of God’s creation in everything, be it the view from the Dining Hall porch or the view from the top of a mountain in Spain. I learned how to practice my faith everyday by seeing God’s purpose in every situation, person, and relationship.

I will admit it is somewhat challenging to be abroad surrounded by so many people who are not Christians; however, camp taught me how to truly love other people the way God loves us and to see every relationship and experience as part of God’s great plan. In addition to all the great pictures, text messages, Instagrams, and more that remind me of camp daily, these practices I learned this summer get me through the homesick and campsick days abroad and enhance my experience here in every way!