A Lasting Impact
It started with a T-shirt.
I sat in the corner of my local Starbucks, coffee and book in hand, daughters with a babysitter for a couple stolen hours of quiet time to myself. A gentleman arrived, laptop and pad of paper in hand, and began arranging himself in an opposite corner.
“Laity Lodge. Wow. That brings back memories.”
I looked up. Smiled at this stranger with whom I now had a connection. A connection that runs close to my heart.
“Really? How are you connected with Laity Lodge?”
An in the next ninety seconds I heard about how he taught archery at Echo Valley in the 60’s and 70’s. How he had grown up in orphanages and group homes, and how a man had provided a scholarship to go and work there. And how his time there had changed him.
“It was such a beautiful place. I really loved it there. And I grew so much – so much – while I was there.”
“Have you been back?”
“Not in a long time. But I’d like to go. I drove by with some friends once and looked down into the canyon, but we didn’t go down. I’d like to go back.”
He turned to his computer, apologized for interrupting me, and gracefully left me to my book. But I could see the wistful remembrance lingering in his eyes as he began to work. And I knew that Laity Lodge had indeed touched him deeply.
Less than a two minute conversation about some words on a T-shirt, and yet I was misty-eyed as I pulled open my own laptop to preserve the moment.
It seems so cheesy to say that experiencing camp at Laity Lodge really does change lives. But it’s not just a company line. Here, 50 years later, I sat across from evidence that it does. And it moves me to be reminded that God uses us to affect others, often in ways we will never realize. The person who made the scholarship possible for this gentleman. The other counselors who interacted with him. The camp director who invested in him. He still remembered all their names, although they elude me now as I write!
So if you’re considering a trip into the Canyon – whether for youth camp, family camp, or a retreat or workshop – don’t hesitate! And for those moments in between camp experiences, keep an eye out for opportunities to connect with others. You’ll never know when an unexpected conversation about a t-shirt will move someone’s heart.
Tags: impact, Laity Lodge Family Camp, Starbucks, Texas
May 12th, 2011 at 10:19 am
Tina,
Thanks for sharing your experience. This seems to happen to me a lot these days. I’m always amazed at how many people Laity Lodge has had an impact on.
May 13th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
I’ve got to get me a T-shirt next time I’m at Laity!
I wonder, this far north (I live in Indiana), how many people have heard of it?
May 14th, 2011 at 10:37 am
What a great story about two special moments in time: then and now. Wouldn’t it be a fun follow up if he actually did go back to Laity Lodge?