Summer Thoughts

"If you are presenting your offering at the alter, and there remember that your bother has something against you, leave your offering there at the alter, and GO! First make things right with your brother, and then come present your offering at the alter." Matthew 5:23-24

This summer has been such a great experience for me. I have this meeting every Tuesday morning with a couple of my best friends where we go through a book and discuss it, but as importantly we talk about what’s going on in life. There had to be at least three or four times when I came in and said that I had guided my favorite trip so far. They were so rich, and seemed to just keep getting better as the summer progressed.

The summer was drawing to a close and I had just spent a little time up in Colorado with the summer staff, I had one last trip at the beginning of August before students turned their attention toward school and we went back to guiding mostly on weekends.

I got to go out with a youth service agency that had a summer program for students who had found themselves sort of riding the fence. None had really been in too much trouble, but that seemed to be the path they were on. The program was coming to an end and their big finale was a trip with Compass Wilderness.

In the group there was a boy, let’s call him Justin. Two years ago, Justin was in a car wreck. His uncle was driving the car full of family members who had all been working together when the wreck took place. It left Justin mentally and physically handicapped.

Naturally, I paid special attention to him, making sure it was an environment where he was safe, and that he was able to get something out of the experience. Well, it didn’t take long to see that he was willing to take some risk and through himself completely into the process. He was the first one to complete a climb! He didn’t do it easily. He didn’t do it fast, but he did it. Now, realize that this is a student I was worried about getting hurt walking down the trail, and here he is, climbing to the top of this cliff to his, and everyone else’s surprise. It was a beautiful moment for the whole group, but Justin wasn’t done giving us a lasting impression.

At the time the sun was about to set, we took a short hike to the top of “Little Baldy” a hill close to the campground. Once on top, we had a few moments of silent reflection. We didn’t direct them as to what they need to be thinking about, and apparently Justin’s thoughts drifted to his uncle. He began crying and separated himself from the group for a little while.

After a few wild events (a couple of lost hikers that we helped to safety) we ended up hiking back down to camp well after dark, and it was a pretty cool sight looking back from the front of the line, seeing these pairs of flashlights helping one another down safely. Justin pulled another student aside asked him to write a letter for him since his motor skills were a little rough still. It essentially went something like this:

For the past two years, I have hated you. I blamed you for me being hurt, and how my life looks now. I can’t do that anymore. I am sorry. I love you. It’s not your fault.

I can’t imagine the weight off of that young man’s shoulders when he cast that off. I am really not sure what exactly we did to get to be a part of that experience for him, but I hope to facilitate that environment for all of the groups we work with.

Thank all of you who are a part of Compass either as staff, prayer partners, financial supporters, youth, youth pastors, sponsors, our board of directors. Thank you for allowing us to minister with you.

Steven Charles