Uninhibited Heart

“…more important than the world seeing the best in our kids (or us) is that they see HIM – the VERY BEST!”

The life of a parent . . . it’s a funny mix of love, pride, joy and exhaustion but at the core is a heartbeat for the world to see the best in our kids. As Christian parents, the beat grows deeper as it begins to beat like God’s and see that more important than the world seeing the best in our kids (or us) is that they see HIM – the VERY BEST! God has given me such a privilege to walk next to parents at all different stages of parenting. Those I have walked beside whose children, old or young, live every day with a disability, carry an extra challenge in helping the world see the best in their kiddo. You see, often, these children with a disability cannot put only their best foot forward. They live life with few masks or cues that tell them this is what the world will accept or reject. Their life is often lived without inhibitions. It has often been the heartbeat of the moms of these kids in which I’ve been allowed a glimpse. There are aches so deep because the world just will not receive the deep beauty of who their child truly is. The world so often looks at their child’s uninhibited tantrum or joy or love and judges them as unacceptable, slamming the door of friendship because they do not fit a predetermined mold. Sadly, most children and even adults gawk at or shy away from the differences of these individuals and families whom God made with a very special opportunity to bring Him glory!

“Sadly, most children and even adults gawk at or shy away from the differences of these individuals and families whom God made with a very special opportunity to bring Him glory!”

As we move forward in expanding our facilities at Big Sky, my excitement grows as I consider the interactions which will come between children in both our traditional and Camp Promise programs. We have watched the hearts of young people transform over the years as families and young adults have come to serve alongside us at Camp Promise. There is sometimes fear and uncertainty as they prepare for our campers to arrive but this is so quickly replaced by a rich JOY which they have haven’t experienced anywhere else. The first stage of our building project is to construct a new dining facility in which Camp Promise and traditional campers and staff will be able to dine in the same facility. With accessible cabins added, Camp Promise will run simultaneously with Big Sky’s traditional camps. Both sets of campers will rub shoulders heading to or from the archery range or trekking up from or down to the lake. Consider with me the freedom this will give God to work in the hearts of more than just our staff to add love and acceptance for our friends with special needs. It is our desire at Big Sky Bible Camp to keep a promise to families touched by a child with special needs and do more than just offer more beds for ministry. We pray that this expansion of space be a means in which hearts are expanded and the uninhibited lifestyle of our Camp Promise campers gives our traditional campers a new freedom to be real before the Lord. May our Camp Promise campers and their families who once faced a lonely world of rejection begin to see their world change, even outside of camp. May those whose hearts have been opened by these new interactions on the grounds of Big Sky Bible Camp fill this world with looks and embraces of love for these families and individuals!

“It is our desire at Big Sky Bible Camp to keep a promise to families touched by a child with special needs and do more than just offer more beds for ministry. We pray that this expansion of space be a means in which hearts are expanded and the uninhibited lifestyle of our Camp Promise campers gives our traditional campers a new freedom to be real before the Lord.”

If you have never sung a worship song or prayed with a group of Camp Promise campers, you have missed something. One of the best things about the uninhibited hearts of my Camp Promise friends is the sincerity of their love for God, expressed in their worship of Him. It truly is a taste of heaven, I feel! May God continue to transform my heart to bring me to a place, free of masks, in order that HIS BEST character might be praised and shine through me! I am forever grateful for how He continues to use my Camp Promise friends to greatly impact my life and look forward to the ways He will use them in the lives of many more at camp as this expansion becomes a reality!

Emmy Ort helps direct Camp Promise with her husband Jeff Ort. She has been involved with special needs ministry for over 20 years, in and out of the camp setting. Emmy is also a loving wife and mother of six.