“Heaven on earth” - that’s the name by which my mother, a self-professed T Bar M super fan, refers to camp. My wife and I often comment, somewhat in jest but mostly with sincerity, that everything in our lives is a result of camp. We both grew up at camp. Our siblings grew up at camp. We, separately, lived on sailboats in the Bahamas and set up camp in Peru with T Bar M. Then, we met… as campers at Camp Travis (parents…tell your kids to always keep their eyes open). We both worked multiple summers at Camp Travis as coaches and on leadership. Now, all three of our kids are T Bar M campers. It is generational. Camp is a place that has meant more to our family than I can possibly explain in this short post. Many of our most intimate experiences with Jesus have been at camp. His presence is palpable. The Lord used (and continues to use) camp to provide a brief glimpse of how a Christ-centered life - when stripped of everyday, worldly distractions - provides true joy, true fellowship, and true growth.

Camp tends to unlock a childish joy that many of us have lost along the way. The common phrase “life comes at you fast” becomes all too true as we age. Professional ups and downs, family life joys and sorrows, and the everyday stresses of being an adult in an increasingly crazy and confusing world can cause us to forget the beautifully simple escape that camp offers – a place for a quiet mind. Matthew 11:28-30 often comes to mind when reflecting on camp, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We all know that camp certainly doesn’t provide physical rest, but I believe it does uniquely provide the mental and spiritual rest that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 11. That is why we “return to the well” year after year: to see God work, to re-center, and quiet the noise.

I’ve long believed, and increasingly so as the years go on, that camp is one of the most important places on earth. I think a common negative refrain is that camp is not real life. But maybe we’d all be better off if it were real life. Maybe camp (the simplicity, the joy, the stillness, the focus, the FUAGNEM) is what we should aspire for real life to look like.

I pray that generations of Vicks experience the life-changing, eternity-shaping growth that God continues to orchestrate through T Bar M. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the closest thing we have to “Heaven on earth.”