"And whoever gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple -- I assure you; he will never lose his reward." - Jesus (courtesy of Matthew 10:42)
This verse kept hitting me as I reflected on my 10th year of helping with Royal Family Kids' Camp. RFKC, as we know it, is a camp that is committed to building positive memories in the lives of children who have been hurt and mistreated. This verse sums up why RFKC has burrowed itself deep into my soul.
It's easy to say, "I'll pray for you" or to offer some platitude to someone who is hurting. But it's not always easy to "nitty-gritty love" people. In 10 years of camp, I have learned what nitty-gritty love is.
It's the love that makes you get up at 2:40 am to pat the back of a terrified child back to sleep after being woken up with loneliness and night terrors.
It's the love that you demonstrate as you face the potential situations of bed bugs and lice, sometimes even picking the lice out of heads.
It's the love that gives you the courage to say to your camper (and enforce), "No, you cannot only eat cake for lunch because I want you to have the energy to play at camp."
It's the love that dresses up in goofy outfits and sips tea with pinkies out and talks with British accents at the tea party just to make the kids smile.
It's the love that acknowledges an imaginary boyfriend named Tom because your camper has explained that she doesn't have friends in real life and she is lonely.
It's the love that spends precious counselor break time praying and warring for the mind of your camper.
It's the love that cleans up vomit when a camper forces herself to puke.
It's the love that teaches several six-year-olds how to fish - ripping worms in half, baiting hooks, casting, and even on occasion getting hooks caught in your hair.
It's the love that gives out side hugs and "I love you's" when physically and mentally exhausted.
It's the love that teaches and corrects in love because you may be the only person speaking wisdom into their lives.
It's the love that plays doll babies and house for endless minutes and pretending to eat and drink countless plastic food items offered to you.
It's the love that acts silly in camp dramas to teach a lesson to kids in a new way.
It's the love that puts the horrendous situations the kids have lived through out of your mind so you can focus on the here and now -- building positive memories for the short time you are with them.
It's the love that sees beyond the f-words and temper tantrums.
It's the love that sends new packs of socks and underwear home with the kids to make sure that even basic needs are met.
It's the love that washes dishes for hours after camp meal times.
It's the love that gives second chances.
It's the love that looks into the eyes of a screaming and punching child and says, "I still love you."
It's the love that jumps into a gaga ball pit and plays with a bunch of competitive little boys.
It's the love that sits on a canoe in the middle of the lake and deals with a temper tantrum and being hit with a fishing pole.
It's the love that jumps up and down and fully participates in worship and songs so that the kids participate and get godly lyrics into their minds.
It's the love that cries and laughs with and for the kids.
It's the love that allows the tiny hand to slip into yours as you make your way down the big camp hill.
It's the love that has the hard conversations.
It's the love that looks the hard and battle-worn parents in the eyes and smiles because you start to see them as Jesus sees them.
It's the love that demonstrates itself in a million other ways throughout camp, and throughout the year to prepare for camp.
You see, this nitty-gritty love is the real, raw deal. I can't change the home lives of my camp kids. I can't erase the sexual, verbal, or physical abuse and neglect that has happened to them. But I CAN offer them a cup of camp cold water -- whether that is playing dress up in old prom dresses or fishing or judging jumps off the diving board or tracking down new underwear for a camper. Whatever that cup of water looks like to them, I can do it.
While RFKC is my favorite ministry, there are many other ways to "offer cups of cold water" to people. The important thing is that we don't get so caught up in being "super-spiritual" that we refuse to do what Jesus has asked us because it doesn't look like we think it should or we don't want to get our hands dirty.
"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." - James 1:27
To learn more about Royal Family Kids' Camp, check out the website http://rfk.org/.
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