If you’ve ever been to Stony Lake you know that the sunsets here are gorgeous. Whether you’ve had a chance to sit on the beach at Lake Michigan or watched the sunset during a Living Water Ministries campfire on the shores of Stony Lake you have likely had a breathtaking view of God’s creation at the close of a day.
Tomorrow would have been the last day of camp for the 2020 summer season. As the sun sets on the summer that might have been, it’s hard not to take stock of what’s happening in the world and what’s been lost. It’s been a real bummer to walk around camp this summer, hear the whispers on the wind from summers past, and see the emptiness of a facility that is usually so teeming with life. There is a heaviness that has been really difficult to shake.
But as I look to the west and ponder the sun setting on this very strange 75th year for the facilities of Stony Lake, I find myself drawn to the east in anticipation of the coming sunrise and it’s promise of a new day. As sure as the light dims each evening, it is also guaranteed to burst forth every morning. As the sun sets, the world slows and quiets at the close of the day, but as the sun rises new hope and possibility emerge on a new day that is yet to unfold.
I’ll leave you with two points of reflection that I have found profound this week as I take stock of all that has (and hasn’t) occurred.
- Our final week of camp this year would have been a program called “Camp New Day” for children with incarcerated parents.
- The rising sun has a lot in common with the rising Son. The new life we find in the resurrection of Jesus is reflected in the newness of every day.
As the sun sets on summer 2020 we move into the next phase of pandemic life. Living Water Ministries now turns its attention to the east to celebrate and witness the dawning of a new day in which we can continue to confidently trust that Jesus reigns.
C.J. Clark
Executive Director
Living Water Ministries
