Oh, Give Thanks!

As we enter this week of Thanksgiving, families and friends are pausing to be grateful. My uncle shared a New York Times editorial from last Sunday’s that starts, “Choose to be Grateful. It will Make You Happier.” In 26 years of camp directing, I’ve known many college students who spend their summers encouraging and loving the girls in their care. Often the counselors who are “standouts” are the ones who consistently practice an “attitude of gratitude.” Several have shared their journaling habits and the discipline of taking time to be thankful. I say “discipline” because we don’t always feel like giving thanks.
Making it a habit and practicing thanksgiving can also lead to joy. The Psalmist cried out “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)

As a veteran camp director, I am thankful to work with college students summer after summer which helps me to be a modern Peter Pan- I won’t grow up…

I am thankful for the Illahee families in cities all over the US who open their homes for camp movies and pizza- even when tomato sauce and white couches aren’t a great match….

I am thankful for the enthusiasm around campfire and that the community endures 95 years after the first opening campfire….

I am thankful for the Woodland Chapel and the breeze that always blows on Sunday mornings…

I am thankful for yellow labs and an office chair that is covered with dog hair…

I am thankful for seasons and the purpose that each one brings…

I am thankful to be part of something that is bigger than myself and the immediate moment…

I am thankful that each year we rebuild the community of camp and that we touch new lives in the process…

I am thankful that Illahee means “Heavenly World” and that our community aspires to create a glimpse of that kingdom on Earth.