Originally published on the Lake Union Herald website: https://www.lakeunionherald.org/archive/articles/just-breathe-and-let-god
HANNAH BERGEON MAY 1, 2024
Camp Wakonda has always been my home away from home–you could almost say that I was born there.
I have spent countless summers coming to camp and having the best time of my life (even though the weeks would go by too fast, and before I knew it, it was time to leave). Camp always was about getting closer to God, and I even got baptized here! Camp was a place I could open up and be myself and I made so many memories here. Now this year was different but in a good way.
I started my first year working at Camp Wakonda and it was an eye opener. I didn’t know what to expect, since I had never been a counselor before, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be good enough. Fast forward to the second week of camp and I figured out quickly that I would be needing God’s guidance. When my girls arrived for the week, I knew my patience was going to be tested and I needed to be ready. Throughout the week I thought I wasn’t good enough and I asked God for His help. At times it still felt hopeless. One of the last nights we had a call for baptism and half of my cabin wrote that they wanted to get baptized, and the others wanted to learn more about Jesus.
I was in shock. My cabin at the beginning of the week seemed to hardly have a spiritual thought, and now baptism! It was an amazing turn of events that had taken place. Even though I was struggling and discouraged, I still made an impact that changed these girls’ lives, and it never would have happened if I didn’t have God’s guidance. Camp is such a special place and so many wonderful and amazing experiences happen here. As a counselor, I learned so much more about how God is there for me even when times are rough. He helps you in your battles and gives you the strength and wisdom to handle hard situations.
My time at camp also forced me to really reflect and move past all my worries about how I’m going to move forward with my life. Before camp started, I had no clue what path I needed to be on–which sparked fear in me. However, after camp, my eyes were opened to new possibilities after I let go of those worries and left it in God’s hands. So, an encouragement I would relay to anyone reading this is to lean on God even when you think you have it all figured out. Because God has his own path for you, and it’s been set for a while.
So just breathe and let God.
Hannah Bergeon was a counselor last year and will be the girl’s director this summer.