How is your foundation?
Today, one of my co-workers asked me to take a quick walk to process things. We left the director’s building offices and headed down through the gates of K1. To be honest, it had been a while since I strolled down Cabin Row. We continued on to the bottom fields, took a lap around the track, checked the docks, and counted how many turtles were swimming in the slough.
On the way back up, we walked by High Hopes (pictured: our old leadership cabin). As I swung open the door, I was struck by the size and wondered how we ever fit 5 guys in such a small space.
I remembered Don Munton living in the rafters of the cabin with his mattress. One night Downtown Terry Brown unleashed an entire fire extinguisher on him as he slept up there. Ah, the memories of that historical bunkhouse.
Over the years, I am certain that God has not only molded the men who lived in the tiny structure (which anchored the leadership on the guys’ side) but also used those leaders to guide countless Kampers and staff who streamed through the front gates.
Leadership teams are an important part of the foundation of our summer camp, and we couldn’t had survived back then, much less this past summer, without their gifting, experience, and wisdom. They were, and are, the rebar in our concrete that defines us.
Solomon brings this reminder as we look at our own lives. When we ponder our calling and career, wisdom is foundational. “By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:3-4
I can’t escape this picture in my mind. Since my first year as a counselor in 1981, Kamp talks and sermons like a Rock at a Time, The 4 Square Life, and I’m Third helped me see that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” and it’s what I need in the center of my life.
Wisdom grounds us. Understanding truth establishes us. Along the way, God grants our lives to be blessed with knowledge of Him as He works in our lives and fills us. This happens when we “build” His way.
I have invested more time in the book of Proverbs over the course of my life than any other book in the Bible. 31 Proverbs seem to be such a perfect fit to match any month of the year. Every verse contains wisdom that we can build with.
Maybe it’s time to check on our foundation. Why not take this next month to do a Proverb a day and ask God to “apply” it in your building process. It bleeds into every area of our lives as we lead regardless of our age.
So much of what we experienced and learned at Kamp now serves to be an important part of the core of who we are and what we do. It’s a foundation we should neither neglect nor forget. My prayer is today your foundation is strong and you are building with God’s wisdom.
Go back to what we have learned at camp. See the Wisdom of God and lessons learned. Jump in and start to dig into Proverbs today, and firm up your foundation.
Ward Wiebe
K-West Shepherd and Sr. Director
