Beautiful
If you stumbled upon the proverbial genie in a bottle and were given one wish, what would it be? Fame? Riches?
For most teen agers (perhaps most women) that wish would be “Make me beautiful”. It is a deeply seeded desire that is understandable.
Oh to be one of the beautiful girls… their life just appears to be better than the average person. They have more friends, are invited to more parties, get more opportunities, seem to be so much happier than regular girls. If we are honest with ourselves, this is what many of us think (or at least used to think).
As we grow older this obsession with beauty gradually fades. Perhaps it is the wisdom of age (we just feel differently about beauty), perhaps it is the cumlative effects of experience (we see that beauty has nothing to do with a quality person)… whatever it is, what a blessing to get past this “wrong” way of thinking. God Himself does not think that much about physical beauty, it means nothing to Him. Why should we care so much.
God certainly loves beauty (any sunset at the beach makes this point clearly)… We all know the verse: “The heavens declare the glory of God.” but does He care about the way we look? The clothes we wear? The shape of our body or the color of our hair? Details about the way we look are simply not important to God.
When Jesus took on flesh he chose a body that was not handsome. Isaiah 53 says He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. That should say something… but it is very hard to get past that voice in our mind when we look in the mirror.
Girls struggle with this, and it breaks my heart. At camp I see them playing without a care in the world, walking hand in hand, laughing in groups big and small, without regard to the size of their clothing or the color of their hair. Self consciousness evaporates like the morning dew in the love that shines so brightly at camp. One minute that awkwardness is there (it never goes completely away) but the next minute it is gone. At such moments the girls look like they are supposed to and the beauty shines brightly. They see it in each other, they delight in the moment. Each one is beautiful… and they know it. In their heart they are confident in their beautiful selves.
Breakfast Club finished “Physical Growth” with this concept. I think that this particular talk is one that is good; it is a talk that resonates for me personally and with many of the girls. I have three daughters, each one beautiful beyond words… I know it is hard for them to maintain a healthy self image, to not accept the negative perspective of the world on this very basic concept. I see them feeling bad and I have no words to fix things. At moments like that I hope they remember camp and the lessons taught here. They aren’t lessons of words, but of feelings arising from genuine connections with good people in a good place.
A boy has limited credibility in addressing some subjects. I recognize the limits of my perspective and hope that the subject rings true and that they will consider it after they go home…. at this point in the summer, the girls appreciate the heart. At this point they don’t mind hearing a serious Breakfast Club.
A quick word about last nights “Seminar Night” EP. AMAZING. Twenty five EP’s were prepared for those who signed up for those activities weeks ago (in a little survey we asked the girls to fill out). One way to gauge the success of an EP is the number of girls who go the the Health Hut. Campers rarely go due to injuries but more often due to apathy… when they rather go to the Health Hut (which many consider to be an activity in camp) rather than an EP, we know it isn’t going that great. I was a bit fearful that the Health Hut would be slammed last night due to the number of activities we were running. How could 25 different programs be compelling for so many girls? How could so many counselors do slam dunk activities, often with minimal oversight.
The Health Hut had no visitors during the EP time. Zero. None.
Nuff Said.
Here is a list the activities (the list tells the story better than words)… Boating Regatta, Newspaper Fashion Show, Color War, Party Barge, Sticker Making, Capture the Flag, Fort Building, T shirt making, Magic Seminar, Hair Braiding, Nerf War, Survival Skills, Duct Tape, Song Writing, Needlework, Friendship Bracelets, Book Binding, Rap Battle, Embroidery, Handlettering, Axe Throwing, Puppy Yoga, War Canoe Adventure, British Games and Tea Party, Life Skills, Tennis Intensive, Casino, Dominican Dancing, Total Body Fitness, Cooking with Solveig, Maintenance Skills with Josh. Whew.
- Breakfast: Sausage and Gravy biscuits
- Lunch: Pesto Chicken and Pasta
- Dinner: Mexican Night
Tonight we will enjoy the Counselor Talent Show. This is always a huge hit and widely anticipated by camper and counselor alike. This is the last “regular” EP of the summer. From here on out we go from big to bigger event, culminating with the big banquet next week. Spirits are high. This will be the best nine days of the year for many girls. Can’t wait!
