God Uses Normal People

G was shy. Painfully shy. I met him during the school year in our weekly English-speaking club. He would come into the coffee shop, politely say “hi” to everybody with a silent wave, and then sit quietly while everyone else chatted. He answered a question if you asked him directly, occasionally muttered a little joke to himself and cracked a smile, and he enjoyed club enough that he kept coming back. However, G stayed at this quiet level the whole school year.

I was overjoyed to see that G had signed up to come to summer camp. On the first day while everyone was playing games, learning each other’s names, and settling in for a week of camp, G was sitting by himself reading a history book. In all honesty, I was nervous for him. Would he be able to make new friends? Would he connect to the foreign staff that came in if he wasn’t going to be the first to talk? Would he get lost in the sea of loud fun at camp?

While I was worrying, I watched our summer intern walk up and sit down with G. She began to talk with him about his book, his favorite part of history, and his other hobbies. She asked him why he wasn’t talking with everyone else, and he explained that he was shy. She confessed that she was also shy, but she vowed to be brave during the week at camp if he promised to be brave too.

The next day, G was the first person to start playing games. The rest of the day you would see him chatting with different groups at camp. He was talkative, joyful, and brave like he promised. At the end of the week, he had an individual secret handshake with each person on staff, and he did not want to leave camp. He told me proudly, “I’m going to be the last student to leave.”

G is a little bolder now. He is more confident in his speaking and in meeting new people. A volunteer—an intern—impacted his life. All she did was take the time to notice him, to talk with him, and to encourage him. These are things that any of us can do! It is so cool that God uses normal people to love his children!