Big camp is no doubt designed to bring us many spiritual blessings and opportunities, but our focus and feelings along the way can enhance or inhibit that blessing.
When setting goals, we are encouraged to take charge of the inputs rather than try to control the outcomes (Eyal, 2019). For example, I will exercise every day this week, rather than, I will lose weight this week. This approach can help us see that we are successful even as we are working towards our goal, rather than only when we have reached our goal. And the experience is far more enjoyable to boot. When setting our focus on our inputs – a positive attitude and going to Big Camp – we are far more likely to have the joyful experience God intends for us.
Many years ago, I was helping out in the camp kitchen. I was busy dishing food and washing dishes, generally running around and helping to provide meals for hundreds of people. I remember this particular day when I was hopeful about meeting my brother’s new girlfriend. I only had a name, so with every new female face that appeared at the service window, I wondered, was this her?
Looking forward to something can be powerful in lifting our mood (Morton, 2018). This is not new science, it’s not even science, well not really. It is the way God designed us.
The hope of the righteous brings joy…
Proverbs 10:28.
So what can we hope for from Big Camp?
We can joyfully hope for God to bless us. We can hope for positive relationships to grow or to form. We can hope for His recreative power in us to shape us as we grow to be more like Him. We can hope for His soon return.
But is it that simple? Can we just tell ourselves to expect a good time and a blessing? Let’s explore what Brene Brown calls a ‘near enemy’(2021). Expectation may be a similar experience to hope, but not quite.
Thane Marcus writes in his article Hope vs. Expectation: there is a finer line than you might think about the difference to be experienced by hoping rather than having expectations (2017). He contends that hope is a state of mind and does not focus on a result but more on the practice of being humble and trusting that God has a plan. Whereas, expectations are frequently unmet and focus on results that may or may not be within our control or reasonable. He encourages us to have hope in God, rather than expectations of the future.
Living with hopeful anticipation, not only of the blessings of Big Camp but also of life is a more joyful and abundant way to live.
WRITER: Chelsea Ralph, attends Lilydale SDA Church in Victoria.
References
Brown, B. (2021) Atlas of the Heart; mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience. Penguin Random House.
Eyal, N. (2019) Indistractable: how to control your attention and choose your life. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Marcus, T. (2017) Hope vs. Expectation; a finer line than you might think. Thane Marcus. Retrieved from https://www.thanemarcus.com/blog/2018/2/28/hope-vs-expectation-a-finer-line-than-you-might-think
Morton, D. (2018) Live More Happy: scientifically proven ways to lift your mood and your life. Signs Publishing.