What I Learned At Woodleaf: Part 1
Justin McRoberts recently shared three lessons he learned while serving as Summer Staff coordinator and camp musician at Woodleaf. I’ll post all three over the next three days. Trust me, they’re all worth reading!
Real-Life Cost Benefit Analysis
Mike, who is on Woodleaf Property staff, is instructing my
Summer Staff about a particular element of the obstacle course Woodleaf
designed for their HighSchool guests.
“We’d like to use that slide through this entire summer if
we can,” he says “and the metal studs on most jeans catch on and tear up the
slide.”
Woodleaf’s high school guests had been asked by their
leaders to wear anything other than jeans on the course,.. “but sometimes” Mike
continued, “a kid just forgets or isn’t paying attention.”
Then Mike said this: “On the other hand, I’d rather spend $1000
to fix a slide than to single a kid out. So, if a group comes through and one
kid among them is wearing jeans, just let them through.”
Every, single element of this remarkable property is
designed to facilitate relationship. In the same way that Pixar’s vast wealth
and expertise serves Story as king, Young Life’s Woodleaf property serves
Relationship as king. Nothing is more important than the connection between the
people who spend time here. In fact, the literal millions of dollars it costs
to run this property elevates Relationship rather than overshadows it.
I don’t have the resources that Woodleaf has. But here
reminds me to weigh the time, energy and resources I have against the value of
relationship – to actively live like there is nothing more important than those
to whom I’m given.
