Spiritual Retreat

Wow, 20 days since my last post. Thanks, readers, for hanging in there with me. I'll try to catch up on all that's been happening in the last 20 days this week.

In June, both of our boys spent two weeks at Kanakuk camps in Missouri. It was Benjamin's first time to go, but Jacob's sixth consecutive year. Kanakuk is now a must-do in our family every summer, and now Jacob is talking about the possibility of being a counselor there in years to come. I can't say enough about the incredible job Joe White and his staff do at Kanakuk, especially for boys. The camps themselves are nice, and my sons love the sports and activities, but the real value of the camp experience there lies in this: the counselors they recruit are all devoted followers of Christ who my boys deeply admire and want to emulate. I couldn't put a price tag on the fact that the college guys my sons most want to be like are a bunch of fun-loving, sharp, energetic followers of Christ.

Many parents--and just about all kids--wouldn't believe that kids could have what my sons call "the best two weeks of my year" with all the following completely absent: ipods, cell phones, text messaging, TV, video games, cars, shopping malls, movie theaters, computers and the internet, junk food, candy and sodas. If you take all those things away, a lot of kids wouldn't have anything left in a typical day. For that matter, what would many adults have left? That's the beauty of the camp experience and the heart of the principle of spiritual retreat: much of its value lies in what is not there. Removing ourselves from the stifling noise of the everyday allows God to recapture our attention, and often our hearts. Jesus practiced spiritual retreat, as have all of our heroes of the faith. I've never met a follower of Christ I admired for his or her faith who didn't practice it.

Our first group of students from the Springs just got back from camp. In spite of the giant spider in the girls' bathroom and the terrible "mattresses" on the bunks, God still worked in students' lives. We're already working on next year's camp experience for our students, as well as retreat opportunities for adults in the coming year. Spiritual retreat can be a life-changing experience for any person of any age. Although adults may believe camps and retreats are for kids, I would argue that the average adult's need to escape his or her routine for a while is much greater than the average kid's. We adults are also more likely to respond with "I don't have time for that." Exactly. Which is precisely why we need to do it.