Summer Time = Crazy Time

Well it is hard to believe, especially since snow was still falling from the sky last week leaving several inches on the ground, but summer is hear once again. This week at Frontier Ranch, we hosted about 400 college students who came to volunteer their time to help us get ready for the summer camping season. Landscaping, cleaning, and construction projects wrapped up on Friday as we begin to prepare to welcome our first set of campers who will arrive a week from today. This month, and especially this week, have been a crazy time. The days have been loaded with very busy schedules and time consuming projects that make it hard for me to focus on what truly matters, relationships.

I took the time to drive to Denver on Friday to spend my last three day weekend with my brother. We got up early yesterday to attend a trail maintenance class and then headed to Eldorado Canyon in Boulder to do some climbing. The previous night we had a discussion about technology and the impact it can have on human relationships. I have written a blog about this before and if you would like to read my views the title of the blog is "Technology Gap." My brother expressed to me how liberating it is when he turns off his cell phone for hours at a time. He feels like he can disconnect and unplug from the world for a little while. I felt that same liberating feeling yesterday as my hands connected with the rock for the first time in a really long time. All the worries and stresses from work left my mind and I was able to fully concentrate on my next move. Nothing else mattered.

It seems like the more crazy, busy, and stressful work gets, the more rest and sleep I want and the less I want to invest in others. But that is not why I came to Frontier Ranch. I came here so that I could deeply invest in others by building strong relationships that were centered on Christ. Sometimes I forget about that. Sometimes I need to Drive to Denver for the weekend and do some rock climbing so that I can take a step back from my current situation. Because once I take a step back I realize that what is worrying me is not as big as it seems. When I am removed from the environment that seems to cause me stress and enter into a different one I realize what truly matters in life. Cleaning camp and stressing about weather or not we will get all the beds made in time doesn't matter. What matters are the relationships. At the end of the summer will I have taken the time to build relationships with the work crew girls who will be joining me in laundry? I hope the answer to that question is yes. E.