A Taste of Heaven

This weekend friends who I worked with at Camp two years ago came back to Illinois to celebrate the wedding of Kayla and Josh, two fellow colleagues and friends. Many stayed at my home for the weekend, and we had another of what we've come to call, "tastes of heaven." Christian friends coming from South Dakota, Florida, Indiana and Illinois were again able to fellowship together and praise Him for three short days. Then they left to go back home and once again we were separated by hundreds of miles. It was back to missing these beloved friends, sisters and brothers in Christ.

Sometimes it's hard to make people understand how dear these friends really are. Only having spent one summer together, I see the looks in peoples eyes as I describe the deep meaningful relationships that have formed and lasted from that summer at Camp Good News two years ago. But what they fail to realize is the power of the Holy Spirit to bond Christians together to further His kingdom. When Christians work together, diligently striving to glorify God's name, cool stuff happens. As Satan attacks the group again and again, God's love is shown to you through one person's servant heart, an others kind and uplifting note, etc. Together you become dependent on God's goodness to get through the day and not your own strength. It is these people who I miss.

And then today I realized that others will soon be added to this group of dear Christian brothers and sisters whose physical and spiritual presence I so miss. I'll soon be separated from those few close friends who together have striven to build up God's kingdom through Youth Group, bible studies, outreach ministries, as well as keeping each other accountable and focused on Christ. We've suffered through Satan's numerous attacks, and grown together in our realization of how great our God truly is.

As I head off to college, and these friends stay in town, hundreds of miles will separate me from even more of those who I've come to love in Christ. In a new town, a new school, and a new church, God is giving me an opportunity to discover and form Christian bonds with new citizens of His divine kingdom. This is the exciting part of my upcoming adventure. I get to meet new people who God called to be His workers. I get to build up His kingdom with new unique creations of God. I'm excited for this.

I'm also excited for heaven. Every time I get together with my friends from camp we realize that we're getting a little taste of heaven. Fellow believers from all over the world will get to fellowship and praise God for all eternity. What an amazing time that will be! And so I look towards heaven, when all my believing friends, those from both camp and home, and I - along with those we don't yet know - will get to celebrate God's grace together for all eternity.