Girls' Night In

One of our evening activities is Girls' Night In. All the boys go out with their cabins for ice cream or a campfire, and all the girls stay at camp for some "grown-up girl bonding time". We did colorful handprint art, notes of encouragement to one another, facials, nails, friendship bracelets, and foot baths to a pleasant background of Disney music that we all sang along to.

When we'd gotten our girlishness out, we gathered together on the floor with pillows and blankets while one of the counselors shared about her teenage battle with an eating disorder. She spoke about the fears and pressures that progressively spiraled into a serious disease, fears and pressures that all teenage girls face. Then she told us how God's love slowly removed those fears and pressures and how she began to recover.

I stepped up and ended the evening with a plea for the girls to believe this simple truth: they are good enough simply because God made them and loves them. They don't need a boyfriend to affirm that they are pretty or unique; they don't need to weigh a certain amount to be accepted. God created them and He does not make mistakes, therefore not of those 30 girls is a mistake.


If the success of the evening was measured in laughter at the beginning and tears at the end, we can rate it 100% successful. And now we pray that those girls will not forget the lessons they learned as they get ready to go home.