Youth Cabin Weekend

This weekend, I got the chance to hang out with my youth group at the cabin. It wasn’t a very structured event, which was pretty nice because it gave me the chance to step back from the pressure of everyday life and just enjoy myself.

Right off the bat, our youth leader told us we couldn’t have our phones in our rooms but had to keep them downstairs on the table. Even though not everybody was happy about this, it definitely made it easier to build relationships.

Saturday was a relaxed day – we played sports, some people went swimming in the pond, and we ate lots of junk food 🙂

In the evening a guest speaker came and gave a talk, which was followed by our annual cake bake-off. My team lost horrendously with a sad attempt at chocolate cake that we named the Mudslide (don’t think too hard about that one), but it was a lot of fun. Yes, I ended up covered with cocoa powder and with a bit of a stomach ache, but I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.

Sunday morning we watched an inspiring message by a Christian comedian for church (probably the only thing capable of keeping us awake all the way through the service — most of us were up until one or two both nights).

Afterwards some of us helped make lunch, then we cleaned up and headed home.

If I were to choose a theme for this weekend, though, it wouldn’t’ve had to do with the activities we had or the emotions that ran high sometimes or even the friendships I built.

One thing that kept on striking me this weekend is the idea of growing up. I’ve only been to the cabin with our youth group once before, over a year ago. Because of that, everything seems to have a memory attached to it. I remember last year’s conversations in the dark, last year’s cake bake, last year’s group games and sports.

And the truth is, things have changed since then. Maybe everyone else is different, or maybe I’m different. I guess we’ve all grown up since then, learned a little about ourselves and a little about God and a lot about what it means to grow up. It’s amazing how much changes in a year.

Growing up is weird. In so many ways I still feel like a little kid, telling myself stories and being awkward in conversation and struggling at sports.

And yet I look back and I wonder where the twelve-year-old me went, because whether or not I like it … I’m changing. And it’s good, even when it hurts a little bit.

This weekend was really good for me. It was relaxing, it was good to step back from life and, in a way, take a deep breath before the craziness of the school year kicks in. But it also gave me a lot to think about, and I’m grateful for that.