Jeffrey had a lot of pain to fit into that rock. In his mind
he could still hear the sound of his drunken father beating on the door late at
night while his mother warned him and his siblings to not open the door, no
matter what. Those memories blurred into the sharper image of his father’s
death which he had witnessed first hand, and Jeffrey cringed. Before the tears
could form in his eyes, he shifted his thoughts to the dog his father had left
them—the only good thing his father had left them. But memories of coming home
from school one day to find the dog that he loved mauled to death soon
followed. That’s a lot of pain. Could it even fit into such a small rock?
“Now,” the Cabin Director spoke again as each camper looked
up from the rock in his own hand, “if you believe that God wants to take away
your pain, and you’re willing to give your burdens to Him, I want you to throw
your rock into the lake.”
Jeffrey’s entire cabin stood at the same time, but Jeffrey
barely noticed the others. He took one good look at the sparkling surface of
the lake and gripped the rock tightly. He needed this. He was ready for this.
With all the strength his 14-year old arm could muster, he chucked the rock
high and long. A full two seconds later, it crashed into the water, never to be
seen again.
But it didn’t even take that long for the peace to come. As
soon as the rock left his hand, Jeffrey felt it. The burden was lifted. Relief
flooded his mind, and Jeffrey found rest for his soul.
“The whole rest of that day, I couldn’t stop smiling,” he
later told me. “I just felt like God was telling me that everything was going
to be okay.”
Jeffrey is just one example of the many lives that are being
impacted at South Mountain Christian Camp this summer. His experience was only
possible because someone provided the scholarship funds needed to sponsor him.
If you would like to sponsor a camper like Jeffrey, you can
use the PayPal button below to pay with your credit card, or visit our website
here to get more information.
