I worked as a camp counselor this past summer. I know it sounds truly horrific, and at times it most certainly was. Children are a handful . . . especially when they aren't even yours! However, there are some redeemable parts of being a counselor and taking care of kids twenty four hours a day. One of these redeemable qualities is how much you learn. C.S. Lewis once called the experience the "most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."

Counseling at a summer camp gives you a lot of experience in a lot of different areas. There are the normal "camp" areas: how to work on a rock wall, how to recover from a head injury before dinnertime, when you have to perform on stage, and how to survive solely on a cup of coffee and a prayer.

Then there are the spiritual aspects of working a summer camp. By week three, you begin to feel as though you've come to the end of yourself. By week six, you know, without a doubt, that you absolutely have. All at once sleep becomes as precious to you as the "One Ring" was to Gollum (that's "Lord of the Rings" for all of you who did not have a proper childhood). Spiritually, you feel empty - as if you were poured out. You pour your heart and soul into all those kids. In addition, you get very little in return, materially. You don't get paid well (God forbid you try to do the math to figure out what your pay is hourly), the kids will scream at you, and your coworkers are just as exhausted and drained as you are. That's the job description.

But it is so satisfying. Somewhere, amidst the crazy campers and the cranky coworkers, you find your Day Seven. "Day Seven" isn't some sort of strange catch phrase that you haven't heard of. It isn't even a new concept that I made up for this article. It's an actual event! My boss actually gave us this concept before campers came on week one. He said, "Just like the people of Israel in Joshua 6 [in the Bible], your Day Seven is coming."

Before you shut off your ears because the word "Bible" was used in this article, hear me out. This "Day Seven" event took place during one of Israel's adventures after they left Egypt. The Lord had charged them to walk around Jericho, a huge city with giant walls, every day until He delivered it into His hands. God promised them Jericho's land for their new nation and riches to help them in their poverty. But their job seemed foolhardy. Shouldn't they attack or force Jericho to give up? Walking didn't seem to be the smartest idea. But they did what God told them to do. For six days, the whole nation of Israel marched around Jericho one time and then went back to camp.

We can relate this to summer camp. Every day as a counselor, I would wake up at around 6:00 a.m. and work with kids until I hit the pillow later that night around 11:45 p.m., and that was only if I got lucky with well-behaved campers. Don't get me wrong, I loved working at camp! It was the best summer of my life. But at the same time, it was utterly exhausting.

We could even relate this to the problems in your life. Maybe your mom has cancer, or maybe you're struggling with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder and feel as though no one understands you. Maybe everyday life and it's routine has you stuck in a monotonous loop. It gets exhausting, struggling with the same thing day after day.

However, this isn't where the story ends! On day seven, the nation of Israel woke up and prepared for their hike around Jericho. Instead of their normal one lap, they were told to walk seven laps around the city. Like us, when life gets difficult, we complain. I can imagine the Israelites moaning to themselves, "Not this again, it was bad enough when we only had to walk around once."

But at the end of the seventh lap, they were ordered to yell, shout, and blast their trumpets. So they did, and all at once the walls crumbled! All the walls of Jericho, the giant walls that had seemed so intimidating, crumbled down around the city. The nation of Israel stared on as their land was delivered to them, and they charged in and took what was theirs.

I can't tell you what this will look like for you. But your Day Seven is whatever will remind you why you continue onward: your sunshine after the rain, a kind neighbor paying for your groceries, cancer being healed, or depression ebbing away. Our Day Sevens all look different and they don't all come at once. But they are coming, and all you have to do is push on towards yours.

If you don't think you can make it to tomorrow, just remind yourself that life isn't always dark and stormy. Life isn't always horrid or hard. Sometimes, it's beautiful and peaceful. Sometimes, we get our Day Sevens when we least expect them.

Your situation is redeemable. Your momentary pain will fade. Your Day Seven is coming.