Heidi Bruder

One of the things I most cherish about my husband is that he is my teammate. We often make references to each other as such. “Thanks Partner” is a common phrase around our house. This is how we approach our life as husband and wife and as parents. We are a team. We stick together, we work together, we have fun together.

Mike spent his teenage summers at Lee Valley Ranch. I’ve been blessed to spend a portion of five summers at Lee Valley since Mike has come into my life. The Bible verse that best describes the focus of Lee Valley Ranch is Romans 12:9-13: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

A principle that is gleaned off of this passage is the thought that “there is something for everyone to do.” It doesn’t matter how old, how young, how healthy, how ill, etc., there is always something for you to do. Pastor Dick Borrud, camp director, ingrains this thought in everyone who comes through camp. It’s an effective way to keep the camp running, but an even more powerful life lesson about living a life of Mission. There is something for everyone to do. You are never too old, too young, too weary, too sick, too heartbroken or too busy to live a life of mission. God will always give me “something to do” to make an eternal impact in the Mission field in which He calls me. Right now, my mission field is largely in my home, immediate neighborhood and through “kid contacts” in my life.

One of our goals as parents is to ingrain in our boys this same principal. “There is something for everyone to do.” We want our kids to learn this principal on a practical level so that it can be ingrained in them on a spiritual level. The past two days have been an object lesson of this in our family. We have gotten so many projects done – de-cluttered closets and the storage room, stained the deck, yard work, cleaned out/washed the van, washed down the house, etc. It has been very productive – a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!

Days like these allow us opportunities to teach our boys that our family is a team. We pitch in and stick together…through thick and thin. Sometimes we are having a blast, sometimes we are tired, sometimes we are overwhelmed. Regardless, we are a team and we stick together. Days like today allow us to live out the principle that “there is something for everyone to do.” Our prayer is that by doing these mundane daily tasks, our boys are learning spiritual lessons that will stay with them through their lives. There’s something else that’s pretty amazing…this has been a physically exhausting weekend for many reasons. Yet, with everyone pitching in, we’ve had a lot of laughter, fun and memories made (Just ask Noah who attacked Mike and me with the hose today! ) Everyone is a vital part of the team. What a lesson of Kingdom work!

This aspect of my family as my team has been particularly important to me this weekend. My body has begun to miscarry our baby. It’s been an emotional two days for me. What has been powerful is that although I’ve been sad at times, I’ve also laughed hard, I’ve smiled and I’ve loved life. I’ve been able be with my 3 boys who support me and love me through thick and thin. They see me at my best and at my worst. They love me regardless. This is an amazing truth. It is powerful to travel through this painful journey with my team supporting me, loving me and cheering me on. My team has ministered to me a lot this weekend….Mike, Noah and Levi. What a gift to be on this team.