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Thankful for Second Chances

Thankful for Second Chances

Bean Creek. Redwood Camp.
Photo By: Paul Alkhato, Redwood Camp Staff 2013

This is a story about Janice.* She came to Family Camp at Mount Hermon this year and took away a lot more than she expected. She shared what she was taking home at Victory Circle at the end of the week.

“I’m thankful for second chances,” Janice told her new friends. “I’m forty-two years old, so I figure I should have about thirty years to make up for my mistakes. I can’t wait to get home and start making memories for my children.”

What was Janice’s great regret? She had neglected her three children. Oh, they had plenty of food and lovely clothes, but Janice had turned their upbringing over to nannies. We have all heard about the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, but in Joshua 3 we read about another miracle—crossing the flooded Jordan River. The Bible says that when the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the river, the water “stood up in a heap.”

Continued from Newsletter

What a sight that must have been! After all the people had crossed over and stepped onto the banks of the Promised Land, God commanded Joshua to have one person from each tribe get a boulder from the river bed, and pile them up on the shore. Those were to be their Stones of Remembrance. Joshua told the people, “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them how the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant.” (Joshua 4: 6-7)

It was those words from Joshua that so moved Janice. She said, “I’ve been too busy doing things elsewhere. I need to minister to my own children. That’s where I’m going to make a lasting influence.” She’s right. “Oh!” Janice added with a smile. “I will be back to see you next year—without regrets!”

*Name has been changed.

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