My daughter Kara just played her first YMCA soccer game this week!  Have you ever seen a 4-5 year old soccer game?

Have you ever noticed that the kids just really don’t get the point of kicking the ball into their own goal?  They go to the goal which is closer, or not…but they frequently go the wrong way on the field! 

Well, this past week at Kara’s game, I enjoyed watching the patient young referee.  He was gentle in reminding the players which direction they needed to go, and frequently had to redirect them so that purple was headed downfield and gold was headed upfield.  And they needed his direction!

I was thinking that oftentimes, a camp counselor has to be like a referee.  There may be disagreements to mediate, rules to enforce, and there’s likely a need for constant REDIRECTING.  I have been so impressed with our counselors’ ability to remain gentle and give lots of grace while redirecting.  They remember that the campers are kids. 

AND…they remember that it’s supposed to be fun!  Kara had no idea what the score of the game was last week.  She only knew that she was happy to be running down the field and part of a team.  Our campers are that way as well.  And it’s up to the counselors to keep them headed in the right direction.

“Train children up in the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  -Proverbs 22:6