I had an awesome talk with Dr. Tom Zimmer on our hike today. I asked him about his experience as an outdoor educator. I'm leaning farther away from PT/OT. He started talking about all of the organizations and job opportunities in the field. Camp Wojtyla is an inspiration for me because of the faith incorporation. Tom cam from a very athletically oriented family just like me. He told me that this was the first thing that was just his. This is my own thing. It's for God and others but I'm not following in any body's footprints this summer. Aaron asked me why, what experience did I have that made me so passionate about working in outdoor education. At this point, I have none. He said that, in his eyes, is a calling.
Now, I have not settled 100% on a career for after I graduate, but I know that this summer I really felt like I belonged where I was. I have even continued sleeping on the ground in my backyard! And my family is going camping t
his weekend. I can't get enough. Something about that path feels right to me though. I have always had a passion for the outdoors - never exposed myself to everything very much until this summer, and I had the time of my life. In addition, this was the first job I have ever had that I actually felt like I was making a real impact on someone's life. Easy to feel that after 3 years as a groundskeeper. At this point, I'm putting myself on track to work in the outdoor education world. I will be working with Camp Wojtyla through the course of the coming semester and over Christmas break. That is as far as I have planned as of yet, but I am excited to see where things go from there.
I'm not going to say that I'm 100% sure about my vocation because I realize how quickly things can change in life and God has a way of having His will, not mine, be done, but I've never been more sure that marriage is my path. I've been honest with God in prayer that that is my true desire.
Up until the last eight months, I had never really been open to the idea of being a priest or joining a religious order. I always thought that I was going to be married and have kids (someone with my background, 5 siblings, large extended family, not surprising). So, I am open to those vocations, but right now I do feel very strongly called to married life. This summer taught me so much about the self-sacrificing love of a father for his children. That is what a true man does. He devotes his entire being to his wife and children. There is a shortage of that type of man in our world today. I want to love my family like Christ loved the Church: I will die for them if death is required of me for their benefit.
I read in a little booklet called "Becoming a Real Man of God" that "Saint Joseph is a man of action. He never says a word in sacred Scripture and yet his actions are remembered to this day."
For a very long time, I have had difficulty being able to express myself verbally with others; something that I am still, to some degree, self-conscious about. Reading that line though, and learning a little bit about the life of St. Joseph really helped me because I do believe that the way I conduct myself speaks volumes about the type of person I am. That is something else that I learned at camp this summer. Things that I said to the campers throughout the summer, I'm not really sure how effective they were or how well they sank in; however, them seeing me devote my summer for them spoke for itself. Not to be chauvinistic, but the example that I set for them will most certainly left an impact on the boys. Actions truly do speak louder than words.
Now, I have not settled 100% on a career for after I graduate, but I know that this summer I really felt like I belonged where I was. I have even continued sleeping on the ground in my backyard! And my family is going camping t
his weekend. I can't get enough. Something about that path feels right to me though. I have always had a passion for the outdoors - never exposed myself to everything very much until this summer, and I had the time of my life. In addition, this was the first job I have ever had that I actually felt like I was making a real impact on someone's life. Easy to feel that after 3 years as a groundskeeper. At this point, I'm putting myself on track to work in the outdoor education world. I will be working with Camp Wojtyla through the course of the coming semester and over Christmas break. That is as far as I have planned as of yet, but I am excited to see where things go from there.
I'm not going to say that I'm 100% sure about my vocation because I realize how quickly things can change in life and God has a way of having His will, not mine, be done, but I've never been more sure that marriage is my path. I've been honest with God in prayer that that is my true desire.
Up until the last eight months, I had never really been open to the idea of being a priest or joining a religious order. I always thought that I was going to be married and have kids (someone with my background, 5 siblings, large extended family, not surprising). So, I am open to those vocations, but right now I do feel very strongly called to married life. This summer taught me so much about the self-sacrificing love of a father for his children. That is what a true man does. He devotes his entire being to his wife and children. There is a shortage of that type of man in our world today. I want to love my family like Christ loved the Church: I will die for them if death is required of me for their benefit.
I read in a little booklet called "Becoming a Real Man of God" that "Saint Joseph is a man of action. He never says a word in sacred Scripture and yet his actions are remembered to this day."
For a very long time, I have had difficulty being able to express myself verbally with others; something that I am still, to some degree, self-conscious about. Reading that line though, and learning a little bit about the life of St. Joseph really helped me because I do believe that the way I conduct myself speaks volumes about the type of person I am. That is something else that I learned at camp this summer. Things that I said to the campers throughout the summer, I'm not really sure how effective they were or how well they sank in; however, them seeing me devote my summer for them spoke for itself. Not to be chauvinistic, but the example that I set for them will most certainly left an impact on the boys. Actions truly do speak louder than words.
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