“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” The above phrase is a safety warning that is required to be engraved on passenger side mirrors of motor vehicles in the United States and several other countries. This is because a convex mirror makes objects appear smaller.
In the same way, when we are looking back at the past year, things that at the time of occurrence appeared huge now seem smaller. Time passes and we see how God works in us and leads us through situations and what in the moment felt like a real problem in hindsight seems like … maybe not such a big deal.
2024 seemed HUGE! January was a near record month. The ice on the main part of the lake was too thin and broomball rinks had to move to Turtle Bay. No snow meant no tubing and no chance to use our new rope tow system. Spring brought forced changes to accounting and payroll systems. Our summer staff numbers were much lower than expected; they were a Gideon’s Army! September saw the grand opening of “The Rock,” Camp’s new gym, and a crowd of over 700 on site for the Abeler farewell. And speaking of the farewells, Camp Lebanon said goodbye to three significant employees with the retirements of Bill and Lisa Abeler (Executive Director and Women’s Ministries Director) and Faith Peterson (Office Manager). This fall we dealt with a “do-over” on finishing the gym floor as well as drain-field issues for one of our shower houses.
And yet, all of those HUGE things diminish and seem much smaller in hindsight as we are able to see that God provided, He led us through, and He has done mighty things. Furthermore, some things in the mirror ARE as large as they appear. For instance, in the midst of chaos, with a short staff, and with retirements and financial changes in the office, there were more than 150 life-changing decisions for Christ at our youth camps this summer. Let’s keep that one close, because that is every bit as huge as it appears.
So as Camp closes the book on 2024 and enters an exciting New Year, we should all keep in mind that the mountains of the moment will become monuments of God’s love and power and goodness when we get to see them in the rearview mirror at the end of 2025. Let’s look forward with enthusiasm and anticipation of the great things that God is going to do at Camp Lebanon!
-Greg Standafer, Executive Director
