The Best Gifts are the Unexpected Ones!!!

My sister and I have a long standing tradition of going to Bible Study and then going to eat lunch to hash out what was discussed in Bible Study.   We even go to the same place everytime, and most of the time we order the same thing, including the 99 cent cookie from the bakery.  Started out as "just our little treat" when all of our kids finally started school.  The tradition has continued for almost ten years and has seen our sweet children go from kindergarden to graduation.  Time flies and it doesn't seem possible that our conversations have gone from what will be their Halloween costume, to where will they go to middle school, to where have they applied for college.  Believe me, many many MANY dreams have been discussed  at our "post Bible Study" lunches.

I remember one conversation very well, just as I remember most conversations, thanks to my healthy "auditory recall" which I was blessed with in lieu of my bad eyes.  My sister and I were eating lunch and she told me that she had an idea and proceeded to ask me what I thought about it.  Her family had moved to a new home and she was praying for God to help her use her home for His glory.  Her idea was to start a summer camp for young girls.  The focus would be to make sure that each young girl claim the verse found  in Psalm 139:13-14 stating that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.  The goal would be to build self esteem and help each girl find her specific gift that God had given her.  I remember listening as she went on about ideas and details.   My form of processing is to listen and process, listen and process, add a nod of the head, and process some more.  I'm also known for nodding and saying "uh huh, uh huh."  But after an hour or so of her telling me ideas and me processing,  my response was "you are definitely on to something."  Looking back, my response should have been "You don't know it yet, but God is up to A LOT and He is about to use you in a mighty way."  The two of us had NO IDEA how quickly "Camp Wonderfully Made" would take off and how great it would be.  We had no idea the challenges that would come and the blessings that would be lavished on it.  But God knew.  He was looking for a woman in Brentwood, Tennessee who would say "Here am I, send me."

Well, "Camp Wonderfully Made" has grown and prospered.  Many many girls have come to camp each summer and many teenage counselors and adult counselors have been touched by the lives sent their way.   God has grown "Camp Wonderfully Made" into "Wonderfully Made Ministries" and now girls from all walks of life get the benefit of not only coming to camp in the summer but also learning and gaining the blessings from the original mission that the camp was started on.  "Wonderfully Made Ministries" makes it possible for girls to go to ballet classes and take music lessons and do things that they wouldn't normally be able to do.  It enables them to dream their dreams so that one day they might "pay it forward" and help other little girls realize their gift of being "fearfully and wonderfully made."  

Shadow of the Cross, Close to the Heart of "Wonderfully Made Ministries."

There have been those who have been involved with "Camp Wonderfully Made" from the very beginning.  My sister has one daughter and she was "on board" from Day 1.   It is not a coincidence that my niece has been given the "gift" of a servant's heart.  She literally loves doing for others and has since she was a little girl.  She has been involved with virtually every aspect of "Camp Wonderfully Made" from administrative duties to lifeguarding to counseling.  But she truly shines when she is working"one on one" with a camper.  Often she can be found with the camper who is having a bad day or one who just needs a little extra attention.    They literally cling to her sweet spirit and kind smile.   My niece is now a senior in high school and is now contemplating her next step in her education.  She has worked very very hard to do well in school and get the scores needed to get into the college that she has always wanted to go to.......the University of Tennessee.  Her resume' is heads and tails above most others because, as I mentioned before, all she wants to  do is help others.  But she has done her due dilligence......hours and hours of tutoring, speech classes since she was three years old,  ACT Testing, and more testing, homework and more homework, and did I happen to mention more speech and more tutoring...........and did I mention that she always has a smile on her face and never a complaint in her beautiful heart?  So it was completely fitting,  that "Sweet C" got her early Christmas gift from the One who formed her and created her perfectly.  My sister was hosting a fundraiser for "Wonderfully Made Ministries" so that little girls could be given the chance to use their God given gifts for a higher purpose, when her own sweet girl pulled her aside to let her know that she had been admitted to the college she had worked so hard to get into.  When we heard the "ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!" shout from the kitchen, my older sister and I knew instinctively what was going on.  We both dropped what we were doing and quickly  made our way to our sweet sissie and niece to join in this celebration.  How fitting that these two who have given so much time to helping other girls find their gifts were now getting a huge gift of their own, with a Big Orange Bow.  I think that our Heavenly Father must have had a wonderful time coming up with this surprise for his two daughters who had so willingly followed his call to help others.   I can picture Him thinking "wouldn't it be great to give them this gift when they least expect it.  I know, I'll do this when they are busy focusing on giving to others."  Then I can picture Him, as we all gather and celebrate  in the kitchen, looking around at the angels  and saying "Well folks, that's what it's all about."    What a great gift from God to let us be there when "Sweet C" and her mom got this exciting news.

For those of you who wake up in the night praying for your child,  holding tight as ever to the faith that God loves that child more than you do and He will not disappoint......but then realizing that there are  certain things that  are out of your control...........Keep holding on........Keep praying.........Keep believing...........Keep following His call on your life.  That's my Story and I'm Stickin to It. 

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Psalms 139:13-14.