one more day...

so it's 1:39 in the morning. i can't sleep. i think it's all the excitment of moving to a new place. in a new province. i haven't done any packing yet, and i leave thursday night. well i leave my house here in thunder bay. i'll be staying at my parents house overnight and they're taking me to where i'm headed. i'm so excited to be working at this camp! rock solid refuge. it just sounds safe. and secure. and i hope that the troubled youth that come there feel just that. safe and secure.
the real challenge this summer is going to be relying on God, and waiting on Him, leaning on Him. He'll be the source of all of my strength, especially when i have none. i know now that i've had the experiences i've had in my life for a reason. now i can use these trials i've faced to help boys younger than me.
lately pete (college and career group leader) has been talking about trials. and i think we have a kind of skewed definition of trials. as pete said, they're not all just bad things, trials are tests. and like the Bible says, we need to find joy in trials. like in james 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." when God is testing us, we can take joy, because through them we develop perseverence! i love the next verses as well 1:4-8 "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does." it tells us that whenever we need help from God, we need to ask. but not just ask, but ask in faith. and God will give it without judging. and can we have enough faith? i don't think so. that's why we have to pray for faith.
so i think of all these things, one day before i leave the town that i grew up in. trust in God, and pray. He will direct my paths.