Through Sunshine & Rain
Since her first visit in 5th grade, Stacy has made camping and retreating at Fortune Lake a priority. Now she considers it a priority to be a positive adult in the lives of young people through her work as a youth leader at Immanuel, Negaunee, where she is a strong cheerleader for Fortune Lake. Though she has played a role in getting countless young people to camp, the greatest impact has been on her own family.
Stacy’s daughter, Katie, lives with chronic illnesses that affect her daily life. When Katie was in high school, she was learning how to live with these diagnoses. She was active in her home congregation as a music leader and loved spending time at Fortune Lake with her peers, but these activities often exacerbated her symptoms, preventing her from fully participating. As a young person dealing with intense challenges, Katie couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished in some way. For Stacy, watching her child walk through a dark time with so much out of their control was heartbreaking.
In the summer of 2019, Katie came to camp as a high school Leader in Training. She spent the week learning skills that she would use during her service weeks while also juggling the stress that the busy camp schedule put on her body. During a Bible Study, the group discussed Matthew 5:45, which reads: “So that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” Katie and her peers wrestled with what it means to have the sun rise and to send rain, which led to a change in perspective for her: The struggles she faced with her illness were not meant for her specifically, but rather a symptom of our very human lives. God was with her in her times of strife as well as her times of joy.
When Katie returned from camp that year, Stacy noticed a shift in her. While Katie’s journey extends far beyond Fortune Lake, there was space here that allowed her to come to these new life-giving conclusions about her own path. To her mother, there seemed to be a weight lifted from her shoulders. Like so many others, for Stacy and each of her children, coming to Fortune Lake feels like home. We thank God for Stacy and her family!
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