An aching heart

Praying for peace for those grieving profound losses in Texas this week and for my Mystic family.

My friends,

I’m sure you have all been following the news over the weekend of the devastating flooding that happened in Kerr County, Texas on the 4th of July.

Camp Mystic was a place I called home every summer for nearly a decade, and watching what has unfolded there has impacted me deeply. It is a place of joy, friendship, and fellowship to all who have attended camp there or sent a daughter there over the years. I have so many amazing, lifelong friendships that were forged during my summers at Mystic, and the most wonderful memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I am devastated for the families who have lost loved ones, especially the precious little angels taken far too soon. The tears have been constant as I think about those darling girls. I am praying their families find peace, and that those who are still missing will be found. I am heartbroken for Tweety and the rest of the Eastland family, whose patriarch (and the camp’s owner), Dick, bravely gave his own life attempting to save the lives of the young campers. He was such a good, kind, caring and generous man who was truly the heart of the camp.

My heart aches for anyone who has been touched by this unspeakable tragedy - there are so many of us with personal connections to not only Camp Mystic, Hunt, and other special summer camps in the area, but the families in Austin, Dallas, Houston and beyond now in the thick of unimaginable grief and worry. Please continue to lift these families up in prayer and if you can, please join me in donating to the Kerr County Relief Fund. This special place in the Hill Country will take years to rebuild, and will be forever changed by this horrible flooding. Click here for a full list of organizations helping with relief efforts.

So many memories have been surfacing this weekend from my time at Mystic, along with songs we used to sing together around a campfire and by the river for devotionals. I wanted to include some of the lyrics of a few of the special songs here:

A bell is not a bell until you ring it. A song is not a song until you sing it. The love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay, love isn’t love until you give it away.

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Mmm-mmm I want to linger, a little longer, a little longer here with you. Mmm-mmm it’s such a perfect night, it doesn’t seem quite right, that this should be my last with you. Mmm-mmm and come September, I will remember, our camping days and friendships true. Mmm-mmm and as the years go by, I’ll think of you and sigh, this is goodnight and not goodbye.

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Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine. I will taste your strawberries, I’ll drink your sweet wine. A million tomorrows shall all pass away, ‘ere I forget all the joys that are mine today.

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Tell me why the stars do shine. Tell me why the ivy twines. Tell me why the skies are blue. Tell me Camp Mystic, just why we love you. Because God made the stars to shine. Because God made the ivy twine. Because God made the skies so blue. God made Camp Mystic, that’s why we love you.

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There’s a camp on the Guadalupe River, it’s the camp of my dreams. Where the whip-poor-wills blow softly and the bright moon beams. On the banks of the Guadalupe River, hearts are loyal and true. Camp Mystic I will pledge my true and faithful love to you.

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Continuing to pray for a miracle for those still missing family members and also praying for the first responders to stay strong and safe through their search. I pray for peace for all of the family members experiencing such deep sorrow.

Camp Mystic, I love you.