9th-10th Grade Thoughts...a little late!

“Then I looked, and, oh! - a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, "Ascend and enter. I''ll show you what happens next." Revelation 4:1 (The Message).   With this verse in mind, thirty 9th and 10th graders walked down Camp Hopetown’s stone pathway towards the edge of the lake and, one by one, grabbed an intern and a spot under the starlit sky. As is typical, Melissa gave no instructions for what to do once they were settled except to imagine an open door amidst the millions of tiny stars illuminating the dark night.  It was a powerful scene to look around and see campers, interns, and staff admiring God’s creation and imagining the ways in which He has personally opened His door to each of us.
	Doors, windows, and rooms- all were a recurring theme throughout the week.  Melissa likened a house and all of the different rooms in it to each of us. She asked us all what rooms we let God into and which ones we keep padlocked for our own protection.  The answers were well thought out and varied.  In small group one morning, one girl said she is very open to letting God roam around her kitchen and living room and study but is hesitant to let Him into her bedroom because it is in this room where she is most herself.  When I asked her about this further, she said that it all boils down to trust.
Frederick Buechner said it best when he spoke of trusting one another.  "I not only have my secrets, I am my secrets. And you are yours. Our secrets are human secrets, and our trusting each other enough to share them with each other has much to do with the secret of what it means to be human."  It was an honor to share “secrets” with such an amazing group of kids and, in doing so, to be reminded of the redemptive nature of a God who never stops knocking.    -Michele Martin, Intern