If you're a parent like me, then you know the most important thing to you is the well-being of your children. You do everything you can to protect and nurture them as you raise them into well-rounded and successful adults. But those long, yet at the same time very short, years can often bring many challenges when it comes to making sure you are getting them off onto the right path for success. Many tears are involved along the way on both sides, and at the end of each day, when your head hits the pillow, you can only pray that you did as many right things as you could and that God will help to fill in the gaps. Yes, raising children is challenging, but it is also the most rewarding thing you will ever do with your life.
Part of the raising process comes with learning when it's time to let loose and give them a little more freedom. Does this mean letting them spend the night at their best friend's house, or go to that movie without parental supervision, letting them go to the school dance with a date, or sending them away for a week or two to a summer camp or they will be surrounded by their peers. All of these decisions and more can often cause a lot of anxiety. After all, you want to give your child freedom and let them know that you trust them, but you also want to ensure they are safe and in an environment that goes along with your family values. For this reason, I found a happy compromise and was able to give my children freedom and be assured that they were safe. This particular compromise was a Christian camp.
I was so comfortable sending my child to a Christian camp because I knew that it was an environment that aligned with our family's beliefs and worldview. I knew that my child would be able to have fun and be taught biblical principles that could help shape them into the young adults I hoped they would be. Plus, I have faith in all of the staff; they had the best interest of my child in mind and would not be teaching them things that went against our family's principles.
The Christian camp I sent my children to over the years did an excellent job of picking speakers who could bring scripture alive and connect with my kids on a personal level. They were able to accomplish all of this and more while at the same time allowing my children to have the most fantastic time and adventures.
Not only did this camp fall in line with our family values, but it was also like almost any other summer camp. You had many of the same activities, including horseback riding, zip lining, Rockwall, tubing on the lake, arts and crafts, and more. They got to stay in the same cabins and have the same experiences as any other child at a typical summer camp. But all the while, I could be assured that my children were in safe hands and in a place where they were becoming better versions of themselves day by day.
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