Have you ever put God in a box without realizing it? Yeah, I hate when that happens and I totally did that this past week.
The camp we were at this week we worked as counselors and was completely different to the ones we previously worked at. There were like 80 campers at this one, compared to 30, and there were more rules there than spiders and flies. Everything was so structured and we had to follow so many laws that were enforced by New York State, it seemed as if there was no room for the teens to be free and have fun. No teen could ever be alone no matter what age they were, and we had to know where each one was at all times, thus I felt like I was counting my girls more than I was connecting with them. I asked myself how in the world they would ever connect with God if there are all these restrictions. My attitude for the first day was crappy, quiet and selfish. Then during the second service, God began to convict me and I knew I had to check myself and have God search my heart. What in the world was I doing? I was putting God in a box and thinking that He could change lives only under certain circumstances! God is a mighty and powerful God, and He can move in any situation no matter how we structure things. If He can build an underground church in places like China, then surely it is not a problem to change the lives of teens under some silly laws in NY. I was blown away...I can't believe I put Him in a box. He humbled my heart and gave me a promise that by the end of the week His power would be known because He is indeed mighty to save! And oh how He always remains true to His promises. By that next day the girls in my cabin became very different. They started connecting with each other, sharing in devotions, conquering fears, trying new things, working together as one, and opening up their hearts.
One night I did a devotional with the girls about beauty and how we see ourselves. I did an exercise with them where they simply wrote on a note card "yes" or "no" if they considered themselves beautiful, and out of 10 only 2 said yes. The rest were a flat out no. Then we talked about what Scripture had to say about the topic. That really made them think...they couldn't believe that many other girls said no, because in their eyes, they felt they were the only ones who felt that way.
However the coolest part of this whole week would have been when I got a chance to pray with this one girl individually. She confessed with tears streaming down her face that she had no self-confidence and hated her looks and her body. Wow....I knew exactly how this girl felt. Dude, I was there before. I shared with her what true beauty was and told her my story, then we prayer. We were there for probably about a half hour, and the night was perfect. I pray that God used me to tell her truth. It is time we storm the gates of hell and that we take back our beauty and destroy the disortion that is consuming our minds. Justice and beauty will prevail!