Castaway

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." -Anonymous

This is where I spent the summer. Go ahead, be jealous. It was amazing.

After hearing that my district was scaling back on summer school and finding out the lease on my apartment was ending early, I decided (on a whim) to email camps to see if they needed any last minute people. Castaway emailed me back the next day letting me know they needed a maintenance intern because there's had canceled the day before. (Coincidence? I think not.) So a month later I drove to Minnesota...and the rest is history.

These people who quickly came into my life and then left, did their fair share of leaving footprints on my heart. And I miss them dearly. 

I went into the summer with less than high expectations and God certainly taught me a lesson. I was challenged and grew on so many different levels. There were times when I was the teacher and other times when I was the student. (And I'm not the best student.) It's very humbling not knowing how to do 90% of the projects you're working on...but boy did I learn a LOT!

*Please refrain from making fun of the "thumbs up" in every picture. I think it's an Aggie thing. :)

Back to the people. The lessons I learned from my dear, camp friends will be ones that I carry throughout life. They restored the desire in my heart to grow fervently. It was as if everything God had been trying to teach me over the past 3 years came up to the surface. So overwhelming, but so good. It's not always easy to learn things about yourself, but if you never learn, you can never grow. 

I learned that my greatest fear is failure. (And I failed a lot this summer, but thankfully I had wonderful, patient teachers right there beside me to always encourage me to move forward.)

Love these guys.

They taught me more about life (and how to maintain things) than they know.

I can honestly say they are some of the most genuine men I have ever met.

And they sent me on my way back to Texas with a new toolbox, fishing (tool) vest, and of course some coffee. Who could function without that? :)

This could really be another post in itself, but I learned that the more you open yourself up to others, the more you will grow. It seems simple, but how often are we scared of sharing our truths with people? How often do we conform to fit what others want? Don't get be wrong, I still have some work to do in this area, but this summer defintely opened me up to what life could look like. 

Life can get messy at times, so make sure you surrond yourself with wonderful people who are going to always be there to help you along the way.

Don't be afraid of the messes either, because in those messes comes memories and a chance for bonding and renewal. You always feel cleaner after you've been in a big mess...compared to an ordinary day. (Physically, emotionally, spiritually...) Catching my drift?

To my Castaway friends, I love you all. 

Now go break some hearts...one v-neck at a time. :)