Preparing Kids for Good Works

Every writing which is written by The Spirit is profitable for teaching,

correcting, and training in righteousness;

that children may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

This weekend, we dropped our son off for his first sleep-away-camp. It sounded like a good idea, when he first got the invitation for the leadership academy. During the week of preparation, I realized that this was the first time that he would be away from us and not in the presence of our family, friends, or church members. I was a little apprehensive, until I thought about my first camping experience…

I was not a member of 4-H or FFA (Future Farmers of America) but somehow, during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, I was selected to attend a summer leadership program at Camp Couchdale, near Hot Springs, AR. No one else from Stuttgart participated during the same week as me, so it sounded like a good idea to ride the camp-sponsored bus. My parents were told to have me at a designated gas-station at the Hazen exit on I-40 for pick up. During the wait, I realized that I would not know anyone once they drove away. I was nervous when I first stepped on the bus, but a group of kids from Cotton Plant immediately invited me to sit with them, and they became my friends for the week (and for a lifetime).

I researched Camp Couchdale to see if it was still in operation and I was happy to learn that the mission continues--to educate and inspire lifelong leadership through horticultural service learning. I do not remember much about the horticultural activities, but I do remember the impact of knowing that my parents trusted me enough to allow me to go to this camp and not wanting to disappoint them. Now that I am on the other side of this experience, I realize that as parents, we try our best to teach our kids to do the right things and hope that they follow suit when not in our presence. I pray that our son has watched our example of when we do not know what to do, we know who to call upon for correction and guidance. I look forward to hearing his stories about his camping experiences and leadership application.

My grandmother told me that parents know their children, who is a leader and who needs to be lead. I feel confident that we are doing good job of preparing our child and appreciate the confirmation from his teacher, who nominated him to participate in this leadership academy. I am no longer apprehensive. Instead, I am excited as my son takes an initial step toward his journey of leadership and training for his good works. What childhood experience do you remember having an impact on your desire to do good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.