Camp Phillip........ Opium for the Soul

I’m finally back from Camp Phillip. I got a few bonus days with the peewees and had my last pudgy pie for at least the next week. This post though, isn’t so much about my fun times at Camp Phillip as much as my way of describing how much camp has meant to me in my life and how it can change a person to fully seek God in every facet of life. Here goes....

A number of you have heard my idea that Camp Phillip is very similar to opium for the soul. I’ve mentioned this several times but im not sure if i have ever explained this idea to its completion. Camp Phillip is opium for the soul because the place seemingly gives those who attend a spiritual high. The spiritual high comes from the combination of bible studies, spiritual songs, campfires and perhaps most of all from the openness everyone has with their faith. Whenever I've come to camp I couldn’t help but grow closer to God and feel more comfortable with being a sinner who needed God at every moment to not skrew up. This may sound like a depressing way to live ones life, but it works in the exactly opposite way. As human beings we need God, we need his grace, his love and his guiding light. For whatever reason it seems easier to fully rely on and trust in God at Camp Phillip. However once a person stands back watches as God takes the place as the strongest force in that person's life, the joy of God's grace flowing through every pore can not fail to change that person for the better. After experiencing such complete love how can a person not want to feel that way again. As much as we want to when people leave camp, the stresses of the world bring us back down to "reality" and we long for the feeling of grace that took hold of us at camp. Even though one may not feel the same way at home that person will remember God’s grace and look to the Lord for peace and not the fleeting desires of this world. I’m not saying a Christian is more saved at camp than one who is speeding down the road after too much to drink. In both situations the believer needs the grace of God. Yet God's grace seems so much more evident at camp. The spiritual "high" that a person can experience at Camp Phillip can only change a person for the better. Once a person feels this love God gives us how can one not try again to become closer to God. So almost like an addict returning to a drug should a Christian return to God's love. Camp Phillip does a better job than any place I have ever been of showing just how much God loves me. Because of this, camp has led me closer to God there and to also seek his love at home. In that sense Camp Phillip has turned me to addict of God's love. Before camp I admit my faith was just something I put through the motions but now it is something to live for. Camp Phillip is “opium for the soul for two reasons: The place can give the believer a spiritual high of feeling the surrounding grace of God and also because after a person feels this spiritual “high” that person will seek God throughout their life. Camp Phillip hasn’t affected everyone this way but I can most definitely say that this is how it changed me. I can only thank God for his grace and for Camp Phillip.