I've chosen this time to tell you something I'm passionate about. If you've read my other articles, you know a few things. I'm passionate about (in no particular order):
1. Jesus
2. Mental health awareness
3. LGBTQIA+ rights
4. Music
5. Singing
But you don't know one thing that is extremely important to me. To explain, I'll go back a few years.
Through great and mighty acts of God, I got a job at a Christian, nature-based summer camp in the summer of 2014. I was the quintessential Christian college kid: a camp counselor. What I didn't know going into this job was how much I was going to be blessed in a way I didn't expect. I found out later in the summer that I was going to get to be a part of Camp Rainbow.
I didn't know what that was, so I'll explain it to you. Camp Rainbow is a camp for adults with special needs. They get to learn about how much God loves them, color, have dinner and a movie, have a dance, have a talent show, and enjoy camp just as much as any person ever has. It became apparent to me that everyone has a "Rainbow Moment" when they work Rainbow, and it may not come until you've worked it for a couple of years.
A Rainbow Moment is when a camper blesses you so much that God reveals to you how special they are in His eyes. I've not heard of a better one than that one of my friend, Emily. Every year, Camp Rainbow has a special dance. They play all kinds of music over the loudspeaker and everyone has a great time. Emily's camper had come for a few years, so she knew about the dance. She told Emily how excited she was for it when she arrived on Monday, and immediately showed her the dress she planned to wear (no one really dresses up for the dance, but she decided she wanted to) and asked Emily if she would do her makeup and hair. Emily agreed.
The time came soon after that. I saw Emily's camper enter the dance in this transcendent, floor length dark dress. Her makeup was perfect, her hair curly, her smile as big as it could be. Everyone clapped as she entered. I noticed Emily slip in quietly as a man asked her camper to dance. Emily wiped tears out of her eyes. I went to her.
"Emily, what's wrong?" I asked, handing her a tissue. "Nothing: everything is finally right." I waited for her to elaborate. "You can tell she has never felt that beautiful in her whole life. I have never been more honored to help anyone with anything." That is a Rainbow Moment. Everything came into perfect clarity, if only just for a moment. It's a moment when you see the Rainbow, despite the fact that it might still be raining. And it came from someone that the world often considers "less than" because she has an extra chromosome. It came from someone who is considered "retarded."
How wrong is that? How wrong is it to demean someone so important to God? How wrong is it to hate those who love everyone and everything? I'm not sure if I can express in words what Camp Rainbow means to me, but the closest I can come is this story. I was at the dance coloring with my camper when a man with down syndrome asked me to slow dance. Nora Jones' "I Don't Know Why" came on the speakers, and I asked him why he wanted to dance with me. I wasn't in his group. I hadn't spent really any time with him at all. He said, "You smiled at me when I checked in, and I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I just want to give you a dance you'll never forget." Tears rolled down my face as I took his hand.
I'm not sure if I can think of a more perfect image of Jesus than his gentle dance. He told me he loved me after the dance was over, and he sat me back in my chair and kissed my forehead.
God's love shines brightest in the places you might least expect.
