Without You
By Lisa Boyer
“Dear Friends, let
us love one another, for love comes from God...”
1
John 4:7a (NIV)
I
met her when I was 11 years old… she was teaching vacation Bible school at the
church camp our youth group went to, and I was in her class. I don’t know why,
but she loved me.
For
the next 14 years or so, we kept in touch through old-fashioned letter writing
and almost every year, I returned to camp (for many years as a camper, but then
as a counselor). Not that I want to explain it, but for at least five years, my
nickname at camp was “camp brat.” I don’t know why, but she still loved me.
We’ve
been completely out of touch for all of the last 15 years and most of the last
20. Yet, once every year, I wake up from the same dream: that I’m back at camp
looking for her, but can’t find her anywhere. So this year, I made plans to
return to camp for a day and see her again. Unfortunately, I became sick and was
unable to go.
The
Sunday after camp was over, as I sat down to finish a letter I’d begun to her,
I decided instead to pick up the phone and call her. Sure I wanted to know how
life has been and what her kids were doing, but mostly, I just wanted to thank
her… thank her for her investment in me, because knowing her was instrumental
in what God would do in my life!
I
can’t say for sure what the exact impact was, but I know this - - being loved
changes a person from the inside out. That’s probably one reason I wasn’t the
“camp brat” every year I was there! I also wonder if hers is
the example I follow when I reach out to teenage girls with God’s love.
Loving
is so important; the phrase “love one another” is stated as an instruction 15
times in the New Testament. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to God
for placing a woman in my life when I was 11 years old who lived out that
instruction of loving.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Has God been prompting you to reach out to someone with His love? Today, will
you prayerfully begin taking that journey?
2. Call someone who has impacted your life, thank
him or her, and share what God’s been doing in your life.
FURTHER READING:
Lisa
has been married to Ted for over 20 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa
administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog, and loves hanging out with and
impacting teenage girls for Christ.
