This past summer we held a day camp at our church. I had many volunteers helping out during this camp, Captain 1Up’s Hero camp. Of course for any event to be successful one needs many great volunteers. My wife and I love having teenagers be a part of our children’s team. In fact, I would say about 80% of our team is of that age. The kids look up to them, easily connect with them, and just plain listen to them. This makes it very important that these leaders know how important they are in the development of the children in our care. At one point during the camp a great teaching opportunity exposed itself.
Summers in Florida are hot… very hot… very very hot. Perhaps you are familiar with the phrase so hot you can cook an egg on the sidewalk? Well that was almost one of the activities we offered for the kids during this camp. But this is a summer day camp! How can we not go out and enjoy the wonderful South Florida weather? During this day camp we divided up the kids into different teams so they could compete throughout the week and the winning team at the end would receive a prize. This is a great way to make sure everyone is following the rules, so they can earn points. On one of these very hot days, on the schedule was a team competition – kickball. Now Kickball is usually played outside. In fact, I have only been a part of one kickball game indoors, and that resulted in broken glass. So off we went outside to start the game, and see which team would earn points for that competition. Everything started ok, until I started to notice a lot of my leaders sitting off to the side hiding from the blazing sun under a great big shady tree. Not only had I noticed, but so did many of the kids. A chain reaction then occurred. Just as with any game, there were a few kids that wanted nothing to do with the game. In fact, these are the same kids who all week constantly went off by themselves and had little interaction with the rest of the group. They were content with being on the sidelines and missing out on some great life experiences. Sadly, some of my leaders that were intent on hiding beneath the shade of the tree encouraged these children who used the heat as an excuse to get out of yet another game.
The game finally ended and 90% of the kids had a great time. They could tell stories of when they hit Pastor Anthony in the head with a kickball at day camp or the one time they got a home run. The kids that participated had added stories to their life because they got into the game. While many of the children were celebrating their win, and others were waiting for the next game to redeem their team, I had a quick “leadership” meeting in the kitchen of the church. I explained to my leaders that when they made it ok to sit out of the game because of the heat they were giving those few kids the go ahead to use excuses. I explained that this kickball game is more than just a kickball game. This kids are at a formative time in their lives. If they make excuses now to get out of life events that may carry over into adulthood. I told them do not set the example of sitting out of the game of life. You should have been out there and encouraging each child to get involved.
In today’s society we have so many people who refuse to “get in the game.” They are so content on just getting by they miss out on all the joys life has to offer. When we follow the plan that God has for us and get involved, we can truly start to see what life is really all about. So many people sit on the bench and watch others play the game of life. They imagine what it would be like to be one of the players. I challenge you to stop being a spectator! Stop the excuses of why you can’t play, why you can’t get that job, why you can’t be happy, why did this happen to you, and just trust God and jump into the game!
If you really want to be a hero and make a mark on history, then you have to be a player of life and not just sit in the stands!
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