A chat with my son

A little about camp and God's love

Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

This summer was Carsten's first experience of sleepaway camp. At ten years old, he was the baby of the family for about six years, a position that alternates between obnoxious and affectionate. Separation anxiety can be a struggle for him, so this trip away was a big deal. His older siblings were at the same camp, but I wanted to hear from him about this.

I only ever had one experience of going away to camp, and I was 17 when it happened. My parents were the type to be suspicious of any camps and sending their daughters away without them. It is one of the things I am doing differently in parenting my children. As you will see in this conversation, we also have very different conversations about faith and being a Christian.

MOM: Tell me about going away.

CARSTEN: It felt good. Good to get space from the chaos that happens at the house.

MOM: What were the easiest and hardest parts?

CARSTEN: The easiest part was that there were lots of distractions to keep me from missing my family. Sometimes, when there weren’t distractions, I would miss my family. The best part of camp was probably the activities, like sailing, archery, and the talent show.

MOM: Now, this was a Christian camp. Is that something you liked?

CARSTEN: It's fine; I would like it better if chapel was held only once instead of every morning. Chapel includes some kind of church stuff, but mostly, you sing fun songs like “Pharoah, Pharoah,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Hippotamus.” There was one time we had chapel on the lake, where some people could be in canoes and kayaks, which was really fun.

MOM: Tell about being a Christian.

CARSTEN: Sometimes, it’s annoying when people will blurt out Christian stuff like JESUS SAVES because they want everyone to be like them, but people are entitled to their own opinions. And I know that God doesn’t care if they follow other gods; he just lets them be them. I don’t think there should be a heaven or hell. I think we should all go to one place; we shouldn’t get different treatments just because we did bad things on earth.

MOM: Do you believe God loves you?

CARSTEN: Yep, he loves all no matter what. He doesn’t care that people whipped his son; he still loves them no matter what.

MOM: What do you do when you feel scared, angry, or sad?

CARSTEN: I try my best to calm down, even though it's really hard sometimes. I know that God would prefer I not do bad things, but he will still love me.

MOM: What was the theme of camp this year?

CARSTEN: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

MOM: What do you think that means?

CARSTEN: Everyone should have the right to be safe.

MOM: Is there anything else you would like to tell me about camp?

CARSTEN: They respect if you don’t want to do an activity, like running. It’s also a rule that you have to get consent to splash someone or squirt them with a water gun. You do need to be quiet in quiet time, but you don’t need to read a book. Just talk quietly. I like how they make sure everyone is safe no matter what. I like how they respect people who aren’t Christians and just want to be at camp.

MOM: Did you make any friends?

CARSTEN: I was in an adventure group with kids my age, boys and girls, and that I was in a cabin with boys. I think it’s helpful to have a gender-neutral cabin, a boys’s cabin, and a girl’s cabin.

MOM: Do you want to go back next year?

CARSTEN: YES!

My baseball loving boy

For the Ears

For the Eyes

Carsten struggles with reading, but we have found a few books to keep his attention. The Dogman series and the Amulet series are his favorites. He also enjoys shows like Monsters at Work and Big City Greens (these are both on Disney).

For the Taste Buds

Carsten is always willing to make food and drinks. His specialty this summer is lemon-limeade, which we both enjoyed while working together on this post.

May this bring joy to your senses and your soul.