Work Week 2013

Work Week at Sharptop Cove started off bright and early as 17 of us began the 14-hour journey to Jasper, Georgia. Work Week happens every year at Young Life camps around the country. College students and adults come together to prepare the property for the hundreds of kids who will be coming to camp and are introduced to Jesus Christ every summer. Going into the week, I’m not exactly sure what I expected. I mean, we would be at a Young Life camp so I knew the property would be beautiful, the food would be plentiful and tasty, and the community would be amazing. But perhaps I missed the “work” part of Work Week. Of course I was expecting to work, but I think in my mind I thought I’d be doing dishes or paperwork for a few hours each day. I do know that clearing brush to make bike trails out of a full blown forest for the next 4 days was not in my plans. Something funny about God though is that He doesn’t follow my plans, but instead asks me to follow His. The other funny thing about God is that His plans are exactly what I need and this week was no exception.

God used this week of manual labor to teach me that often times He just wants me to show up. I wish I could say this week was full of rainbows and butterflies and that every moment was fulfilling and joyful, despite the hard work. However, that was not my week. Although there were definitely times of joy, fun, and laughter, there were also lots of times of “my back hurts”, “what the heck do I know about trail blazing?” and “can’t I just take a nap?”

To be honest, that’s typically how my life seems to go. A lot of showing up, trudging along kind of moments and trying to seek God through this messy life. It’s definitely not easy and often times I fail to experience God. But when I do experience him, it’s a shining, overwhelmingly beautiful glimpse of Him. And those shining moments are so lovely and so personal that they make every blister worth it.  That’s what I see as I look back at my time at Work Week. I trusted that God would use my imperfect service to bless hundreds of kids who will come to Sharptop Cove this summer, and He ended up blessing me. As I give myself away, I experience more of Him and I am blessed.

That makes all the blisters worth it. From having the opportunity to sit on top of a mountain and pray for the kids who would use the trails we had just made to being surrounded by my Young Life family while we sang and laughed together. From sharing in worship with people from around the country to encouraging a fellow worker when we were getting tired, God used Work Week to share His love for me in a beautiful and personal way. And if I had chosen to nap instead of show up, I would have missed it.

Eva Rosberg

Young Life College Leader