“Standing on this mountaintop, looking just how far we’ve come, knowing that for every step, you were with us.”

Two summers ago, the day that campers left camp for good for the summer, I remember being in the office working on some paperwork. I was doing some last minute filing or writing up some last minute report or something. But I was in there for at least an hour. I was listening to Never Once on repeat the whole time. It was the only song that I felt completely described so beautifully how I felt. The whole summer had been spent climbing this mountaintop, and now we were at the top, looking over the valley and could see all the rocks we trampled over. All the trees that once looked like obstacles now looking like Polly-Pocket trees. God brought us through this incredible summer.

“Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say. Yes, our hearts can say ‘never once did we ever walk alone, never once did You leave us on our own. You are faithful, God, You are faithful.’”

Sometimes following God is really hard. We get so caught up in other people’s thoughts and feelings. We get hurt by other people, by situations, and by our messed up world. But if there’s one thing my seven (soon to be eight) years on staff at CCWNY has taught me, it’s that God is always with us. Constantly fighting for us, constantly using us to change lives. Christ has been in these past 70 years of ministry at CCWNY, and will be using many more years and stories to come to transform lives, cultivate disciples, and train leaders at CCWNY.

“Every step we are breathing in Your grace, evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise. You are faithful, God, You are faithful”

If you’re like me (which you probably are because you’re most likely a camp person), praising God through everything is so hard. And when it gets hard for me, I picture myself standing on the mountain top, looking over all the things God has accomplished in my life, and through my life. And when it gets even more difficult, I picture myself standing on the mountain top, looking over all the things God has accomplished through Camp Cherith, and through the people that have been changed at Camp Cherith… And it’s the most incredible site in the world. So when you think of the Greater Story of your life, and of CCWNY, I hope you realize how unique you are, and how you fit into this big story that God is creating through you. God has placed each of us here and each of us in the story of CCWNY, whether it be for a day, a week, a summer, or for many summers, and we each have a unique piece of that Greater Story. We have so many reasons to praise God! Never Once is the perfect song for our 70th summer!

<333 Roo

If you would like to submit a devotional for Morning Watch Monday or have a topic you would like to see, contact Lorianne, loriannewalker7 [at] gmail.com