Cranking the Pedals and Spinning the Summer Camp Tire.

When I was a kid my friends and I’d turn our bikes over and stand them on their seat and handle bars. Then we’d spin the back tire via the pedals as we oiled the chain.

Invariably this act of maintenance turned into some type of competition.

We’d see who could get their tire spinning the fastest or the longest. We knew we hit top speed and the chain oiled just right when the momentum of the spinning tire would take the pedals right out of our hands.

But I also remember how hard we had to crank the pedals to start the tire spinning. The first 4 or 5 cranks were killers. But once we got it moving the tire would just spin on and on with much less effort.

Oiling the chain and those first cranks describe April, May and June at SpringHill. We are cranking the pedals to get the tire of summer camp spinning. We’re hiring our last staff, shoehorning in the final campers, finishing our curriculum and lessons, preparing and training staff and making sure the facilities, partners, and administrative components are all planned and ready to go.

People often believe that summer’s our busiest time of the year. And its true summer is extremely busy but it’s the oiling the chain and cranking of the pedals of spring which takes the most effort and energy. By the time summer hits the tire is spinning fast and our effort is on guiding and directing its spin.

So as our staff come off their spring breaks the race of getting the summer tire spinning is on. Please pray for us over the next few months that we have the wisdom, energy, strength and time to finish oiling the chain and cranking the pedals so the 2011 summer camp tire will spin fast, straight and smooth.