The room had great energy. Music was sung at full volume and multiple icebreakers had brought much laughter into the space. I asked everyone to sit down and to take a deep breath, then again, and one more time.
And when the room was silent I began, “Thanks for coming – first time folks and those of you who have been here before. A stellar staff has been preparing for this week, and I’m pretty convinced we’re all going to have a great week.”
I waited another moment and then read the following words from Matthew, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And then I asked, “What does it feel like or look like to you to be loved?” Brief silence hung in the air and then multiple young people shared powerful experiences of being loved. “And what does it feel like or look like to love someone?” Again, incredible stories of how folks had shown love to another. And then finally I asked, “Have you been shown love by someone that you did not know or shown love to someone you did not know?” Frankly to my surprise a number of young people had experiences to share.
One of the greatest examples of how the participants fully leaned into are exploring love came from a fabulous young person named Ari who offered this at the variety show and was recently published on the Kanuga facebook page:
I rise in the morning to the birds that chirp,
As I am kissed by the sun’s light, rising from
the earth.
But my soul stirs with anguish, heavy and hurt—
A world on fire, a heart in search.
Who would’ve thought that l ought to speak?
My knees shake as the wind begins to breathe.
My lungs fill with doubt, my voice with fear— What if the wrong words are all they hear?
But anger burns-and so does grace.
God’s love lives here, in this space.
It calms my fists, lifts my eyes, Shows me truth behind the lies.
You, the youth, fierce and bold —
You are more than what you’re told.
You’re not the hatred you’ve been shown, You’re the seeds of love this world must grow.
Lift your voice, not to wound but to wake, Not to curse, but to unmake The chains they put around your heart— You were born to rise, to set apart.
You are fire, yes-but also rain.
Not just muscle, but mind and name.
You are the dawn-not just the night—
The answer, not just the fight.
So speak in love, even when it shakes.
Heal in truth, even when it breaks.
For love is the loudest way to rebel-To choose heaven, when all else fails.
Always a blessing to walk with young people.
Love Camp!
BP