Sound of Surviving Blog

Last week, I went to a camp for young adults and teens with brain tumors. It was not at all what I was expecting, unfortunately. But it still ended up being a ton of fun. Not because of what I was doing, but because of the amazing campers and volunteers I was surrounded by. You see, it’s not always the what, but the who.

I, as well as many other campers, were told, that because our teen and young adult session was being held at a camp for children, we were too big to go on the giant swing, climbing wall, zipline, and flying squirrel. At first, I was really upset. That was all of the activities I’d been looking forward to doing. I nearly cried riding back to my cabin, exhausted with frustration. But my golf cart driver (a volunteer) made me laugh so hard and so much on the way back, that all of my frustration was quickly forgotten. Two out of the three days that the pool was open for campers, it thunder stormed, and we had to stay in our cabins. I ended up laughing hysterically with my cabin mates, talking and playing board games. The art barn there had practically no art supplies, other than rocks and markers. The one thing it did have, though (full of other campers, who were like me, frustrated by this), was laughter and friendship blooming unlike any other. There’s something to be said about being able to turn any cruddy situation into a good one through teasing each other lovingly, laughing, and joking around. I was exhausted a lot this week, which was frustrating. But instead of telling me to calm down offered hugs when I got frustrated or upset. I was surrounded by people who understood what it was like to walk in my shoes. People around me didn’t expect me to shrink myself to fit in, but encouraged me to shine and be as much myself, and as loud as I could. So camp, like life, was full of ups and downs. But for all of the bad, I had quadruple the good things! I had over 100 good things that happened this week: meeting every single survivor and volunteer at this camp.

I think this week taught me something that God has been trying to show all of us all along: that when we surround ourselves with good people, and his love, it doesn’t so much matter what we’re doing in life. If we have the right people by our sides, the what fades into the background.

Growing up, I was surrounded by a family whose love and laughter, and sense of humor, could make even being in the hospital seem like fun. Many nights felt like game nights at home, instead of the rehab’s teen room.

We often look at other people’s lives, finding ourselves jealous that they get to be in the Bahamas, or at the beach, or wherever they are, while we’re stuck in our lives. I got caught up in this cycle the other day, and was thankfully later brought out of it, not by circumstances, but by who I surrounded myself with: my nephew’s joy-inducing squeals of laughter, my brother’s kind words of encouragement, my sister-in-law’s teasing jokes, my mom’s loving nature, my dad’s smile.

God tells us to surround ourselves with those who will encourage us and make us better people (Proverbs 27:17: Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another). When we surround ourselves with people who remind us of how blessed we truly already are, we grow closer to God, and are more clearly able to see the blessings he has in store for us, rather than be filled with envy or jealousy. When we surround ourselves with good people, and with God, we will be more accurately able to follow Paul’s words in Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” When we surround ourselves with people who emulate God’s goodness and love, we will be able to see it in our lives more and more, despite any awful situation we are in.