Philip’s Random Thought of the Day #1
July 30th, 2008
posted by Philip Nice
One of PYC’s families, back during this year’s AC graduation.
Hey guys, camp is over, which means a lot of you are headed back to where you can actually log on to the site and see everything we’ve been posting! Oh the hits. Well, it was awesome having you all here for PYC; you all transform headquarters into a nuclear reactor of enthusiasm and energy when you’re here, and even though I didn’t really work camp this year I still miss you all already!
What is my random thought of the day? Well, it is this: Family is everything.
Thanks to camp I got to see my youngest brother and my dad, and it’s just got me thinking about family. Levi and I got to spend some time together beforehand, which helped me to just love him more and be there to see him grow up. Getting to talk with him during camp helped me to learn a lot more about what he thinks and what he’s happy about or struggling with and just helped us become closer.
My dad rented a van and came out to drop off a dozen other Southeast teens and then booked it back home to take care of responsibilities there before doing it all again just last night. I got to talk to him for just a little while and having not seen him in months it really helped me appreciate him and just thank God for him and my mom. She couldn’t come out, but she stayed up until like 4:00 a.m. just baking us cookies! We received the mother lode of cookies, seriously.
But the more I think about it, the more I see how much they pointed me to God. They encouraged me to go to camp back in the way-back, they talked with me about God and how exciting His way of life is, and they encouraged me and have always loved me. Without them, I’d be nowhere! And I’m thinking, Wow, I need to be selfless like that!
But it wasn’t really just my family that has got me thinking about this. It was seeing families all during PYC; in some cases the parents worked in the kitchen while the kids were campers, or the kids were workers too. Or there were sets of sisters or sets of brothers or just about any combination you can think of in the ranks of the campers, the workers, the counselors, the administration, and/or the headquarters staff. We had some strong, strong families represented here. And, in the larger sense, we were all family.
And it’s not just those with physical families in the Church. Some of the most inspiring things I saw were campers and teens who don’t have their whole families in God’s Family, yet God sees their need and gives them father-figures or just comes close to them and serves as their Father Himself. Charlene’s “Uncle Gene” speech showed that perfectly.
Anyway, what can we learn from this? Well I think there are two things. First, if you’re a teen, really take a second look at your family—they are so important! And second, if you’re a teen or if you’re a parent or if you’re an adult, think about it: Whatever you are doing, you are shaping someone’s life.
More randomness to come!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Two things - one, I really really miss you guys, our wonderful campers. I love seeing you and your enthusiasm and the passion you have for camp. I really wish I could have been a part of camp this year.
Two, it really is about family. As one without physical parents or two of my siblings in the church I can feel your pain if you’re in a similar situation. I know it’s tough at times, but I know God’s more than made up for it in my life and He will in yours too.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
As of now, I cannot look for words that would describe my appreciation to your article. It’s something that I felt also when serving at PYC here in the Philippines. Reading articles like this one made me missed more our PYC. I always served at camp here but wasn’t able to attend for the first time this year so I really know what Adar is going through- missing the camp terribly..
I agree to you and what Adar said that PYC is really about family. It truly is..
July 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am
Amazing post, Philip. Our families are so important and it’s amazing how we so easily take them for granted. PYC really changed my life (as a camper and as a worker) and AC followed along with those camp teachings, showing me that this family we have in the Church is THE Family we’ve always wanted. If we have physical family in the Church as well, great, but if not, don’t forget the spiritual Family that’s just waiting to draw us in with brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents–anything you could ever ask for. All because our Father loves us so much.
Thanks again, Philip.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Family is everything!
Campers you have really touched my life. i wish you could know how much. i can’t wait to see you all again.
you are all a part of this great big family of God. Being here in God’s one true church, there is so much love and family. it is truly an inspiration. Don’t ever let it go.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I hope I am not intruding (and I promise I won’t make it a habit) on a ‘young folks’ site by responding to what I have read here. Charlene and Whitney just told me of this site this past Sabbath (though they did say it was for teens). Well I was a teen in the Church too, but it was 40 years ago, but I still have the ‘young mind’, though certainly not the body.
I just wanted to say that what Philip said about God providing family members when we don’t have our own physical families in the Church, is certainly true, and it is NOT just us old folks supplying the Father figures and role models. The young people in the Church have certainly stepped up and filled the void for those of us who have lost our families to Satan, the pulls of the world, and our own mistakes as parents. To all of you ‘kids’, thank you from all us old folks. I don’t think you can understand how special you are to us and what a tremendous inspiration and example you all are when you step out and follow God’s ways, instead of the ways of this world. Stay strong and faithful. Thank you!
August 5th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Mr. Ardis, we would love hearing from you all the time! This is definitely a family site and we hope you visit it all the time and leave comments whenever you can. Thank you for your example and for your comments. It means so much to us young people to be able to look up to you.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
As someone who owes a similar debt to my own family, I don’t know where I would be if not for their continual encouragement, support and guiding example. I think sometimes it takes a certain amount of separation to really see our families for the great blessing they often are.
PYC really is a celebration of family, showcasing both the fruits of our strong physical families, as well as reinforcing the spiritual family bond we all share so closely for those three weeks. I hope teens will read this article and take a moment to meditate on the blessings of family in their own life — whether physical, spiritual or, hopefully, both. The best part about seeing a family working together is knowing what family pictures, and that no matter what our current physical family may be like now, in the end we will all not only be a part of God’s Family, but get to help spread that Family life to those who have never known it.
Thanks for the article. I look forward to any second or third random thoughts of the day you might have.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Family is really what holds this Work together, and it’s what God is using to really pull us together to teach us what He desires.
It sometimes takes years to fully learn from, and understand the lessons in life’s experiences, but looking back now I know that I probably wouldn’t be here today in the Church if it weren’t for my PYC experiences. It wasn’t just the fun and excitement of the activities, and all the traveling away from home that made PYC exciting. It was that closeness that I felt with the people I met, and the friends I made. I found family members of no physical relation, strangers I had never known before. But they immediately welcomed me in with open arms as if they had known me all their life. There is no denying the power and effect of God’s Spirit in this spiritual family that we all are a part of. These experiences changed my life, and made me feel a part of something very real, something very special! These feelings of love and companionship weren’t just for show. No, in fact, I’m still very close with some of those first people that I met back at PYC in 1992. These experiences that we have are only a taste of what God so badly wants us all to experience on the God plane for all of eternity!
Like many out there, I came from a home where both of my parents weren’t in the Church, but that doesn’t matter because I have so many moms, and dads, and brothers, and sisters right here in God’s family which more then makes up for any loss I might have experienced otherwise.
As a united family, under God, there is so much that we can do for one another, so much that we can give, and share with one another; let’s not take for granted the power, and privilege of the family God has given us. I know that when things get rough, this family will always be there.
Thanks for the great article Phil. Wonderful insight… thanks for sharing it. Glad to be in the same family with you.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Thanks so much Keith! I feel the same way; and thanks everybody for all your replies!