Kristen Fabick's Blog
christmas in tn / 12.27.07, 02:30 PM
i knew i would miss my kids from camden before i even left, but i never imagined that i would be so emotional about it. i was asked by the pastor of my parents’ church to say a few words (this turned into ten minutes of me pouring out my heart) about the past four months i’ve spent in camden. i told about the last full day i spend in camden sorting, packaging, and delivering christmas gifts that had been donated to our camp kids.
as i talked about one family in particular, i had to stop several times to choke back tears. normally i am all about crying. i don’t try to hold it in. but i knew if i let myself go, i would not be able to utter intelligible words and the congregation would just be lost in a sea of sobs and mumbles. i was not sad. not at all. my heart was simply too full of love and passion for the kids i was talking about to hold it all inside. my tears were the overflow of my heart.
i told the congregation that i was frustrated because i knew that whatever words i spoke would never do justice to explaining the kids i work with. my words can never paint a picture sufficient enough for others to understand how my heart is attached to these kids and this city i have been living in. i also told them that what i am doing is no more difficult or important than things that they can do here. there are kids everywhere who need someone to be a role model for them, to listen to them talk about their new crush, to watch them sing and dance, to tell them they are capable of behaving and capable of having lasting and meaningful relationships, to be one of those lasting and meaningful relationships. all it takes is time, commitment, love, and intentionality. for some people, their part in loving these kids is to send christmas gifts. for others, it is to tutor them once a week for an hour after school or during lunch. it doesn’t matter what part you play, as long as you are acting as part of the body in some manner. the body is the most beautiful thing when all the parts are working differently, but together, for the same goal.
on a lighter note…it has been a great blessing to come home to family for the holiday season. i am glad to spend time with family and take a short break from the sometimes frantic pace of life in camden.
my time at home has not been entirely euphoric and utopian, however. i am sad to be away from the people of camden (especially the kids at my after-school program) for this period of time. my heart is constantly being pulled in numerous different directions. i want to go to church in huntsville, al. i want to be near my parents in tn and my sister in utah. but i also want to be with my kids and my work in camden, nj. my heart is full of longing to be in three places at once, but i know this is impossible. thats ok…i’m enjoying the emotions and knowing that i am really living because i am loving deeply and being loved deeply in at least three different areas of the country. it’s all part of the experience…
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That’s awesome girl, thanks for the encouragement!! Just hearing honest stories like yours and seeing your love for your city is such an inspiration and it’s really making me look forward to my MY even more! Thanks! Keep SHINING!
By Psalm 115:1 (a future MY girl) / Dec 28, 12:26 PM / #
ahh! that was beautiful. you’re beautiful. “it’s all part of the experience…” :-)
i hadn’t thought about the kids much because i’ve been so busy. but then today taylor arrington was telling a story and said somethig about a person named bartello. i almost died. :-(
By Haley / Jan 1, 06:41 PM / #