Signing Off!
I cannot believe Merrie Woode’s 97th summer has come and gone! It has been my honor to watch generation after generation of Merrie Woode girls ride horses down the Lake Trail, paddle on Lake Fairfield, and perform on the Castle Stage. Thank you for making me a part of this place of rarest beauty. I am eternally proud of every camper and counselor who has chosen to spend her summer beneath our dear Old Bald.
As a reminder of the Spirit of Merrie Woode, I would like to close my final blog post of the summer with Dammie and Ruth’s Prayer:
God of the Hills, grant me Thy strength to go back into the cities without faltering, strength to help my neighbor who has no hills to remember. God of the Lake, grant me Thy peace and Thy restfulness. Restfulness to carry the tired one whom I shall meet every day; content to do small things with a freedom of littleness, self-control for the unexpected emergency and patience for the wearisome task; with the deep depths within my soul to bear me through the crowded places, and the laughter of the sunny waves to brighten cheerless spots in a long winter. God of the Stars, may I take back the gift of friendship and love for all. Fill me with a great tenderness for the needy person at every turning. Grant that in all my perplexities and everyday decisions I may keep an open mind. God of the Wilderness, with Thy pure winds blow away my pettiness; with the harsher winds of winter drive away my selfishness and hypocrisy, fill me with the breaths and depths and the height of Thy wilderness. May I live out the truths which Thou has taught me in every thought and word and deed. Amen.
Faithfully yours,
Tajar