Hello my loved ones,

I am en route to the 10th blessed year of Camp Or L’Dor, the Messianic Jewish outdoor adventure camp founded by my husband Sid and Rabbi Nathan. In addition to this week my becoming a grandma for the second time (over the moon happy!), travel and then some more travel, as well as , well never mind. The point is the week got away from me. Rather than not encourage you this Shabbat with a new message, I’m sharing one from this time frame from a few years back.

This year we’re at Camp Poyntelle in Pennsylvania and have loved over the years sharing our young people and our faith with multiple mainstream Jewish camps from the Midwest to the Northeast. May this year’s experience be another year of seeing His mighty Hand at work.

From August 2013:

Have you ever wondered why things seem so hard at times? And how often patterns in our lives seem to repeat again and again?

In my life, starting from when I was a child, I was always the “go-between”. My mom sent me to talk to my father and vice versa, not a healthy arrangement at all. I was the mediator between my children and their very volatile father. As a lawyer, it’s my training to help companies vis-à-vis government penalties when they make mistakes regarding their retirement plans. My journey has countless examples of this being my recurring role.

I’ve often pondered this pattern in my life, since it’s not an easy road, although I guess it’s been perfect training for being a lawyer. That aside, in personal relationships, it’s sometimes hard to be the “middle man.” However, as I’ve gotten older, and as I’ve prayed about this, some clarity has been revealed.

Perhaps when we are given more than we feel we can handle, HaShem is tooling us for the work He wants us to do for Him. Surely my training as a child, though difficult and disfunctional, has prepared me well for my walk now as a Messianic Jewish woman interacting with the wider Jewish community.

This “training” has been a gift beyond words this week at Surprise Lake Camp, our Jewish host camp for Camp Or L’Dor, our Messianic Jewish teen camp. I have been one-on-one with the camp rabbi and Jewish staff navigating that space and it has been amazing beyond belief. As the coordinator between our camp and theirs, I have had multiple opportunities to answer questions and bring their perception of us ever closer to the reality. To quote a former Surprise Lake Camp director, “Conversation leads to understanding.”

As you struggle with challenges, I encourage you to think of how you are being strengthened and given insights you would not otherwise have that help you to serve HaShem, how these particular skills may help to hasten the day when Shabbat will be unending, Yom Shekulo Shabbat. Until that day. . .

Shabbat shalom.
Diane