Parenting . . . What a journey. . .

Even if you haven’t had children, we all have experienced the relationship, either as a child, as a parent, or as in loco parentis – those times when we need to act as if we are the parents. Sometimes we are counselors, teachers, mentors, aunts, uncles, grandparents. The list is endless of possible nurturing relationships, not to mention those times we are really blessed to be “parenting” our four legged fur babies. Well that’s for another time. . .

It’s hard to believe Sid and I were still at camp just last week. It seems like a lifetime since then. With all the travel and company this week, today has really been the first chance to sit down on our deck and relax.  As I chatted with God, it felt so good. The breeze felt as the Ruach, the air so comforting, the quiet so welcome. I know this is just a brief moment so I am so so grateful, even for these precious few minutes to reflect on His Love.

When I think back on how Camp Or L’Dor went this year, especially under the directorship of Cheryl and the pastoral leadership of Rabbi Nathan, it felt as if we were magnanimously blessed. I couldn’t help but compare it to the early years of camp when we had so few leaders which meant the heavy lifting went to Rabbi Nathan, Raina, Sid and me along with just a few young people. As we have been able over the years to bring in more infrastructure, not only has our camp benefited as an entity, but it has made the experience for our teens exceptionally rich.

I can see in them a searching to draw closer to God, and that is our mission. Even the challenge of the overnight(s) adventure trip, whether met with anticipation or dread, serves its purpose of overcoming struggle to force the camper to draw even nearer to Him, to live outside their comfort zones. To see the intimacy and vulnerability in this age group, and watch it develop over the weeks of camp, is truly inspirational to all of us.

As we have strived to be good leaders, to serve in parental roles, I think of this year as especially rewarding – no real drama, but rather, so many tears of heartfelt compassion and love for each other not to mention five immersions! I also think back to trying years, ones with challenging campers, ones who didn’t want to be there (at first 😊) and the gratifying efforts to bring each of those closer to Him as well. It is all part of our work for Him.

How like this our Abba must feel about every one of us. He’s provided us the information of how to live meaningful, worthwhile, loving lives. Sometimes we’ve gotten it right, which I imagine may make Him smile. Surely, however, over mankind’s history, we’ve been major disappointments as well – rebellious children doing what we want rather than what He has asked of us.

Even when society was in some ways simpler, when it was just Adam, Eve, Esau, Isaac, Noah’s generation, we just loved to break rules and push the boundaries. Perhaps we’re a lot like teenagers! Yet children grow up, mature, as do societies we would hope, and one day the roles shift.

We become able to look back and hopefully see progress toward the light. We take on the eyes of the parent, the eyes our Abba has for us. We become able to see the journey from that perspective, having lived the other, and are incentivized to bring along that next generation with love and understanding of life from their perspectives having been in their shoes once too.

So too, did our Abba, our Father, humble Himself to walk among us through the personage of Yeshua, who literally arrived as a baby and was a child among us. He felt all as we do when young, yet resisted sin, before ascending to be with the Father who knows how we feel at all ages. In the deepest of ways our Abba through Yeshua models for us how to be better parents and leaders of the next generation, our knowledge of the challenges of youth enabling us to lead with compassion.

I thanked God this morning that He has given me this insight into the reality of parenthood. He is to us as we are to those Or L’dor campers and all those whom we nurture in this journey of life. I now more deeply understand the pain of our rebellion when young, personally and societally, and greater appreciate His mercy and grace. Doing so helps me to react with compassion as perhaps our next group of campers, children or grandchildren, prefer to color outside the lines, for we, too were rebellious at times. On a larger scale, perhaps this perspective will also help me feel less disappointed by the incredible number of societal missteps occurring daily and will help me have more grace toward those with unsettling world views.

Surely I’ve been given the gift of feeling great gratitude when the parenting is easy, as it was this year at camp. I’ve also been given the reminder to not take this state of shalom for granted for such equilibrium is fragile, able to be upset by so much that is out of our control. Most importantly, seeing all of this from that intimate, yet greater perspective brings me in even more awe of Him, His patience, perseverance, our undeserved and His unending love of each of us.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane