Let Me Call You Sweet Heart
Patient, loving Father God,
It is difficult to believe that in Your love You planned to delight my mind, body, and spirit in ways I still cannot fully comprehend. I did see glimpses of You in the beauty of the hill country at church camp but didn’t realize that the breezes that caressed my face and the pleasing colors of the trees and sky were meant to give me a sense of the peace and tranquility of Your loving presence. Thank you for such gifts, even though as a girl, I didn’t grasp why and from whence they came. I welcome Your Holy Spirit more fully now with a love for You that continues to grow. Glory and praise and honor to you, O Shining Light of the World! AMEN
What are your memories of going to camp?
One July in the mid-1950s I was attending a youth camp at Mt. Wesley in Kerrville, TX. I remember one early evening so clearly. I was standing with my friends on the second floor wrap-around balcony of our huge girls’ dorm. We girls were delighted to see and hear a huge bunch of boys and men gathered below us, playing guitars and singing songs like “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”( Let Me Call You Sweetheart (enhanced mastering) - YouTube) and “Tell Me Why.” I remember thinking, “Gee, one of those guys could might actually be the man I marry someday. How neat that would be!” What an exciting thought!
The entire week was great fun, for we were busy making new friends, studying the Word, praying, worshipping, and playing games together. I have forgotten any other details of that July week except the fact that a rare summer cold front blew in from the north. Since we had only light-weight clothes, in desperation we built a roaring fire in the huge rock fireplace at the lodge. It was an unheard of, improbable event for a summer day in Texas.
At least seven years after that week at camp, I was reminiscing about good times at Mt. Wesley with my new husband, Duane. He, too, had enjoyed several summer camps there, but to our knowledge our paths had never crossed. We had been introduced to each other at Texas A & I University several years later in 1961. When I recalled building the fire at the lodge in July, Duane was startled to remember that he had been there, too, that week to huddle around that fire. Indeed, he had been singing with those other young men serenading us that night so long ago. I had received the gift of songs that night and speculated about the possibilities of love between myself and one of those sweet singers, never realizing that my thoughts about a future husband being among them were intuitively correct. My heart had responded to the romance of the moment, but discovered no specific person to which I could respond that week.
So, too, our relationship with God often begins like a faraway song, with God calling out to us in love like a gift of sweet music. We may not recognize the source of that call, but God is calling to us, nevertheless. Our hearts may even be stirred, but we are unaware from whom the call is coming or why. How do we hear such a call? We experience the loving presence of God in the gift of our beautiful world. We sense the love of God through the loving actions of our parents and godly friends. We discover the God of love through the Word as we hear sermons and study alone and in groups. We are moved emotionally by the music of worship, whether in regular attendance at church or over the radio and internet. God calls to us, sneaks up on us, and provides lovingly for us to hopefully discover Who is there, wooing us into a deep satisfying relationship with our Maker. However, we need to turn our face toward those strains of poetry in song and Word and receive the grace poured out on us by God in so many ways. How regularly do you make time to pay attention to our Loving God?
Isaiah 65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.”
Shining for Him,
Mary
