We spent this past weekend in Kentucky at a camp called ‘The Center for Courageous Kids.‘ Indiana’s best friend Scout has been coming there with her little brother Ash and her Mom and Dad for the last couple of years... so this year Indy and I came along. I’d been hearing about the camp for awhile—not just from Scout’s family—but also from people at Indiana’s school and many others. It’s primarily a camp for children with special needs and their families, but once we arrived, it was easy to see that this place was that and much more.
The camp had lots of activities for the kids and grownups to do together, so Indy got to do lots of fun things, like working with wood...
Coloring pictures…
Boating with her counselor Gabby and Scout’s grandma...
Swimming in their big indoor pool...
And though we now have horses at home, Indy wasn’t too sure about getting on a horse at the camp, so we just looked at them...
One of her favorite parts was getting to meet and spend time with the ‘camp dog’ Ollie...
But mostly, she loved being with Scout and Ash for the weekend...
Three times a day, everyone gathered in the big cafeteria and shared meals together.
Afterward, the counselors would put on music and the kids would have a ‘dance party’ and all of a sudden, dozens of wheel-chairs would spring into life and parents and siblings would hold a child up and start helping them move their bodies to the music... so the child could get to experience something that most of the rest of us take for granted. The kids loved it. So did the parents
My favorite part of the weekend was getting to meet some of the other parents and kids and hearing their stories. Some stories were heartbreaking and left a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes... but they were all inspiring and had a way of putting Indy and my’s life in a little better perspective.
One moment that I’ll never forget was meeting a twelve-year-old little girl named Adeline, who was blind... but has recently has been given the chance to see because of some new ‘magic goggles’ that she wears. On Saturday evening Ed Collins, the man who manages the camp, invited us to come up with Adeline and her mama and ‘watch’ the sunset over the pond.
I’ve seen thousands of sunsets in my lifetime, but not like this one. When you’re with someone who is getting to see everything with brand new eyes... it changes how you look at the sun setting behind a tree.
It changes how you look at everything.
We all set together for a long time and listened as Adeline explained how her ‘magic’ goggles work to Scout. But pretty soon, Indy crawled off and found a spot of her own to watch the sunset...
As I watched her, I felt like I had new ‘magic goggles’ on and could see Indiana a little clearer.
I could see the wonder in her eyes. How in her eyes, everything is new. And perfect. And good.
And I found myself realizing that no matter how hard life seems sometimes, or how much pain and hurt we feel like we’re carrying around with us... God gives us ‘new eyes’ each day, and the opportunity to see the good in life—to experience all the joy that He is trying to show us.
I want to have the faith of a child and feel that kind of joy.
And I want to be courageous like all the special little ones and parents at this camp... who take the difficult hand that God has dealt them and find every opportunity they can to turn it into something beautiful.
Like Scout and her mom and dad...
And I want to be brave like Roger and Stormi Murtie, who followed God’s nudging to move to Scottsville, Kentucky twenty years ago and turn 168 acres of farmland into a piece of heaven-on-earth for a thousand little angels who desperately need to spread their unique wings and fly.
Like mine.
