Positive Impact

Today was our last full day of activities in cabin groups.

We could have been sad. We could have counted down the hours, mourned what was ending, and let the weight of it settle over the day. A virus has moved through our community, leaving some of our campers in beds recovering instead of making memories with their cabin groups. That’s hard. That’s disappointing. By every measure, we had reasons to choose sadness.

But this morning at Reflect at the Rock, Riley reminded us of something essential: we have the opportunity, every day, to positively impact those around us.

He wasn’t talking about being positive, as much as he encouraged us to be a positive influence. In reality, we all have an impact, but is our impact positive or negative on those around us? Are we encouraging others, building them up or is our impact bringing others down?And we get to decide, every single day, which one we’re going to be. Today we were choosing to positively influence others by looking for the good even when things are hard.

Today I am thankful for this message from Riley. If I let my feelings or my emotions determine my impact, I know today would have been a disaster. Instead, I chose to let my mind determine my impact, in spite of my challenges. This is why today, in the midst of illness and struggle, I can find joy and gratitude.

I am grateful for our Health Hut staff who are working around the clock (literally) to love and care for your children. I am thankful for our leadership team who came alongside them to change sheets, make beds and comfort sadness. I am overwhelmed by the staff who got up and down all night with the camper who felt bad, but had not gotten sick yet, then back to bed, and back to the health hut, and back to bed…with one eye open, and compassion and empathy leading their steps. I am grateful to the kitchen staff who woke up early to make breakfast and prepare lunch before breakfast so they could sanitize cabins and clean bathrooms to prevent the spread of germs. Most of all, I am in tears over the support of parents - from texts to emails to phone calls, encouraging us, thanking us and lifting us up when we feel down. It is your support that carries us each day, and for that I am forever grateful!

I also have to shout-out our campers and staff who were feeling great today. They chose to be ALL IN for camp today. They chose to make their last full day of cabin life something worth remembering — not because everything was perfect, but because they decided their attitude would be. That’s the real lesson of the day. Not that we get to choose our circumstances — we don’t always. But we absolutely get to choose how we respond. And that choice matters. It ripples out. It touches everyone around us. It has impact.

Favorite Details of The Day

• Reflect at the Rock: Riley talked about positive influence.
• Weather: We had a beautiful day at camp. There was the threat of rain in the afternoon with a few clouds and sounds of thunder, but we only got a light drizzle during dinner today. Though we need the rain, I am grateful for the sunshine!
• Meals: For breakfast we had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. Lunch was Copycat Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, waffles fries, a salad and sandwich bar. Dinner was my flank steak, roasted red potatoes, haricot verst and homemade rolls, with our salad bar and sandwich bar. We had Camper’s Choice sign-ups after dinner, and everyone begged for Gus’s during announcements. After sign ups, we got Gus’s!
• Evening Program: Tonight’s EP was Square Dance. Since we have been battling this virus, we opted for a line dance night instead. Campers could pick a partner (with their elbows) to dance next to, but we opted for no organized hand holding or finding partners to make circles of four. This felt like the safest way to have this night happen for everyone who loves it so much, but also keep our campers healthy. It was a huge success, and campers loved line dancing until their boots wouldn’t stomp anymore!