Deep in our minds we all have little memory triggers that can easily bring to the front of our consciences special events, activities, people, feelings and even tastes and smells. If you were to ask me one thing that I remember most about my kindergarten days I might immediately think of cinnamon rolls that were served at the school. Or I might talk about two different places my family lived while my parents were building their dream house. Those are just a couple of hundreds and thousands of memories tucked away, just waiting to be recalled.
One memory was triggered this past week as I attended a high school camp called Dayspring. Though I never attended the camp as a youth, I did attend as a staff person several years. Also, both Ginny and I volunteered for several summers for Dayspring when we lived in OKC.
But it was not my attendance at Dayspring that got me all sentimental and nostalgic, it was the location of the camp. Dayspring is actually held each year in three different locations. The one I attended last week was on the Oklahoma side of Lake Texhoma near Kingston at Cross Point Camp. That particular area of the lake holds some of my fondest memories from when I was a kid. During camping trips to the lake I would ski, camp, fish, stargaze, play cards, and ride mini-bikes among other things. Those were days filled with innocence and without schedules.
Upon arriving at camp I felt a flood of memories take hold of me. In a sense, I felt like I was stepping back in time about fifteen years; yet, when I began to look around I got the sense that things had changed. There were still the twelve cabins for the campers, a dining hall that overlooked the swimming area, a tabernacle and deans cabin; but somehow the camp looked different. New small group meeting places dotted the tree covered grounds, the ropes course had a new repelling and climbing tower, the dining hall interior was remodeled, the deans cabin re-roofed and additional rooms added, and even the large twenty foot cross at the end of camp was reworked with a larger gathering area and textured concrete poured around it to give it an enhanced aesthetic.
After talking to the camp manager, he informed me that the changes were needed because of the increased usage of camp. No longer was the camp primarily used during the summer; now groups from all over the state and region go to Cross Point for their spiritual retreats and weeklong camps. The camp had to improve because more people attended. And because more people attended, the infrastructure needed expansion and upgrading. As a result, there is a waiting list for groups to use the facilities, which means that greater ministry is being developed and more lives are being changed by the message of Christ. Today the camp might look similar to my early experiences, but the feel and function of the camp has really changed.
That transformation reminds me of Christ’s words, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). When Christ comes into our lives he starts to transform the old and familiar into something new and glorious. Most often that change in internal, but many times the change can also be in how we view things (see 2 Cor. 5). New eyes can give a renewed insight and new understanding to the ways of the Lord.
May God bless you with a sense of renewal and an appreciation for things becoming “new” in and around your life.
