Food for Thought
This page is dedicated to providing some spiritual content for our campers and staff. Arrowhead directors will occassionally post new information to ponder. We want to encourage you to grow in your faith by providing a passage of scripture, a thought or challenge to consider and talk about with others. Dig in!
Apr 08 | Feb 08 | Jan 08 | Dec 07 | Nov 07 | Oct 07
The Desire of Every Boy
One of the hot books of the past summer is a nostalgic celebration of boyhood past for me. The Dangerous Book for Boys, by brothers Hal and Conn Iggulden, speaks of fossils to tree houses, from secret codes to go-carts, from the Battle of Gettysburg to the last voyage of Robert Falcon Scott. I was given the book this summer by a new camp family that obviously knew my boyhood heart and knew that we would put the book to good use at camp. I’ve read and searched its’ pages from front to back and reminisced about a boyhood of playing G.I. Joe in the woods and cotton fields of my grandfather, making forts from limbs and catching critters in the area creeks. Those days are past but luckily at camp I get to relive them all!
I believe (and there’s evidence found in scripture) that deep within each boy’s heart God has placed a longing for adventure, brotherhood and a profound love for something more than today’s media-driven mediocre days of life. Boys, whether the adventure is found on a chess board or high in a giant oak tree, need a place to escape and be a boy. Brotherhood, life changing adventures, risks and the acquisition of new skills are all God given desires that most boys yearn to experience.
Looking at the biblical stories of young David (later to become King David) and Jonathan, best friends from childhood, one can read of their desire for adventure and the brotherhood that was formed from their fellowship. The bible speaks of their relationship as such, “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” They were best friends and soul brothers to the end. Psalm 133:1 reminds us that, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” We all desire friendship and fellowship and boys, most of all, need fellow brothers to journey through life.
God, in all of His infinite wisdom, has seen fit to provide some amazing friends for me through camping. These friends and brothers began as fellow campers or older cabin/activity staff. Later we developed a brotherhood different from all other friends in my life. We shared specific events together, through camp, that no one could understand or that I could adequately explain. Those unique friendships continue today and I thank God for the experience and brotherhood found within His amazing and intricate creation.
by Jeremy Gillespie, executive director
