The camp’s compost pile, which was built at the suggestion of my wife, Sarah, sits atop the rim of the gully at the end of a short path behind the office. I carved the path out of the surrounding vegetation with the help of a weed-whacker and some pruning shears two years ago, but the regular foot traffic of the kitchen staff coming and going from the spot has been enough to maintain it ever since. The compost pile, which sits in a small clearing at the end of the path, is kind of a crude affair, just four pallets standing on end in a rough square and reinforced with chicken wire. A sheet of plywood rests over the whole, presumably to keep raccoons out. The flimsy defenses of the chicken wire and plywood don’t actually do much to keep animals out though, and sometimes I jokingly refer to it as our “wildlife feeding station.”
Occasionally, I take a break from the office and walk down there to rotate the compost with an old pitchfork. The top layer, which represents the most recent deposits, resembles a ghoulish salad bar with a multicolored mélange of strawberries, carrots, cantaloupe, egg shells, lettuce, squash, and coffee grounds all piled in a heap. It looks moldy and wilted, and it smells rotten, but as the pitchfork flips and mixes the pile, the under-layers, still kind of moist but uniformly brown with an earthy aroma, are revealed. I think it is almost magical that all that rejected produce and trash can be transformed into a rich useful soil.
I was reminded of the compost pile recently while reading II Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Some of our guests arrived at Camp Maranatha this past summer dead in their sins, and left the grounds alive in Christ. This has caused me to think of Camp Maranatha as a compost pile of sorts wherein an amazing transformation takes place in the lives of our guests. Although Camp Maranatha is situated in an idyllic spot with wonderful facilities, what is remarkable about camp is not the venue or the buildings. Just like the compost pile, it is the transformation that occurs here that makes it remarkable. For me, the fact that these grounds are dedicated to the work of the Lord lends beauty to the surroundings, and it is exciting to know that some of our guests are transformed during their time here into new creations--a rich useful soil from which good works will bloom, bear fruit, and bring joy to the heart of our Lord.
We can’t say that it is Camp Maranatha that makes this possible, because God doesn’t need anyone or any place to accomplish His will, but it is our great joy to be used in this way. Thanks be to God!!!
