Whatever is...

With the church camp season almost upon us, lists are floating all over my small apartment. Lists of things to pack, purchase, leave behind, goals, and whatever else I can think of in preparation. There is so much that doesn't belong at camp, so what I allow myself to bring can be tricky. Not just longer shorts and extra deodorant, but there are spiritual things that have to come along to.

What am I bringing to camp this year? My prayer journal, my Bible, my Rosary. But more importantly, I am bring my favorite verse to meditate on as the weeks go by. My focus over the next fives will be a verse from Philippians that caught my attention at the end of the camp season last summer. I've carried it quietly in my head ever since then, but I have yet to truly put it into practice.

Last year's camp season was not an easy one. There were physical challenges (tornado, flood, heat, etc.) but there were more difficult emotional challenges. There was a grudge or two, some loneliness, and a fixation on the negative rather than the positives of camp.

Which is where Philippians 4:8 comes in. The goal over the next five weeks is to focus on the good, but more than just the good. The true, the noble, right, pure, lovely... You get the picture. I want to see those things. The excellent, praise-worthy pieces of camp and I want to keep them close as the weeks go by.

But more than that, I want this attitude to extend beyond camp. Somewhere along the way, camp became a sort of spiritual restart button for me. It's that time of year where I really check in and try to understand where I am at in my faith and how I can do better.


Tota tua.