Jun 26, 2019
by Elianna Chroniger
As a student I always looked forward to the summer months because it meant that my entire life changed drastically. Instead of waking up early to sit in a classroom all day, I found myself sleeping a little later and waking up to the idea of sitting around all day doing projects, eating at weird times, and even going for walks. I looked forward to the weeks of summer camp at Camp Harley Sutton, the week of Vacation Bible School and most especially, the week of Conference.
Our family never flew to Conference. We always made the journey by car and turned our trip into more than just the week of Conference. We road- tripped! The first trip to Conference that I remember is when we traveled across the country to Oregon. We took the Oregon trail and saw so many amazing things! We stopped at Mt. Rushmore, Independence Rock, and Fort Cody. Our car broke down in Idaho, of all places!
Throughout the rest of our trips to Conference we took friends on some of our adventures. Abigail joined me in my terrorizing of Madge for one particularly memorable trip to Colorado. Annie joined us on our adventure home from Lancaster in a car packed so full of conference materials I could barely sit up straight. We even had Nedd and Aleafa Lozani travel home with us one Conference. Our drive to California included stops at the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon, the Great Salt Lake, and even the high school where “High School Musical” was filmed.
I long for the summers when my life changed so much just because of the month of the year. Even with all those changes, however, one thing stayed the same. Every Sabbath, no matter what state we were in, we would be in a Seventh Day Baptist Church. I visited churches all over the country, and even had time to stream our worship service from Alfred Station some weeks. In all of the hustle and bustle of camp, Conference, and VBS, I never thought about missing the chance to worship with my fellow believers.
When at camp we took the day to worship in the amazing creation that we have been gifted with at Camp Harley. On VBS Sabbath we watched as the kids shared with us what they had learned throughout the week. The Sabbaths leading up to Conference, I explored more churches in our denomination than I ever thought possible. Finally, Conference Sabbath, we worshiped in the midst of hundreds of other Seventh Day Baptists and found rest in knowing that our God brought us together!
So now, as I am working at a grown-up job, I long for summer. Not because my life will be completely transformed in the ways it was when I was growing up, but because it will remain utterly the same. I will road trip with Jesus from my home church as we still experience the joy our young ones get when their lives are transformed by the summer. I’ll direct a week of camp at my favorite camp. I’ll take the time to watch friends get married, have babies, and grow up. I will see my friends and family at Conference, and I will revel in the fact that, through all of the changes in our lives, we never miss a moment to reach out and worship. I will cherish the summer as the time when things stay the same because of the constant grace of our Savior.
This summer and every summer after, I challenge you to do the same, whether your life is utterly transformed by the summer months, or completely the same. Look to make room for the chances to make worship your constant, even when you feel like life is too crazy to take a break!
