His name was Paul. He wasn’t exactly what you would picture if someone said "camp counsellor". He looked like he would be more at home living on the streets of downtown Toronto. His political views wouldn’t sit well with too many people that you’d see in the normal Canadian church. In fact, I’m not even sure how he slipped past all the checks and get the job in the first place. Of course, we were only junior counsellors back then, so we had a little less responsibility.
It was over 15 years ago, and we were working at Fair Glen Youth Camp near Beaverton, Ontario Canada. The junior counsellors were a close-knit bunch, many of us had been together for two summers, though that’s the only summer I saw Paul. It was a Christian camp, and so we worked together and played together and prayed together. Our passion was to see the children and youth that came get to know the Lord Jesus a little better.
In the evenings everyone was split up in their cabins. Quite often this would be a time to talk with the campers about life and about the Lord. This was a particularly dark night, and everything was pretty quiet outside. My memory may be playing tricks on me, but it seems I was out for some reason that night, when Paul came bursting out of his cabin.
Apparently, one of the campers had made the decision that night to give his life to Jesus. And was Paul excited! He couldn’t contain himself. He exploded out of the rickety wooden cabin door and began to hop and whirl down the path. If my memory isn’t playing tricks on me, that’s when I heard the news about the camper.
But if so, I must have hurried back to my own cabin, because I didn’t see what happened afterwards.
The cabins at Fair Glen are in a wooded area, and clothes lines are strung up between the trees. During that day, some intelligent person had moved one of the clothes lines, and it just so happened that one was strung across one of the paths. You remember it was a dark night. And along came a tall, lanky Paul spinning and leaping with excitement. And SPROING! His neck came into contact with the clothes line.
Thankfully, for Paul and the person who mis-strung the clothes line, his wind pipe wasn’t crushed. But he did have a long, red wound along the front of his neck for the next few weeks. But was his spirit dampened? No way! What a great way to get wounded! Let me tell you, that was a scar to wear with pride.
Yes, we’re all going to get a few scars, scars that we may get trying to bring people to the Light. Scars that reminded us of the One who was first scarred for us. But let me tell you, they will be scars to wear with pride! How small these wounds will seem in the light of friends and family that have finally come to know the Lord. No wonder Jesus said,"In the same way God’s angels are happy when even one person turns to him."
