When I was 15, my high school football coach asked if I’d consider volunteering at a summer camp for kids with muscular dystrophy. I didn’t fully grasp what I was signing up for, but I said “yes.” At that age, I thought I was following my coach’s direction. Now, I see God’s hand orienting my life toward something greater than myself.
The Bible tells parents to train up children in the way they should go. Have I been successful so far? How am I teaching my children to love God and to be good stewards?
That camp was a haven for kids with disabilities. For one week each summer, they could just be kids – have water fights, do arts and crafts, and even dance at the end-of-week party. As a volunteer, I’d be paired with one camper to help him get from activity to activity, eat meals, prepare for bed, and even respond in medical emergencies.
I arrived early for some training and got to know the other counselors, many who had been volunteering for years and had formed relationships with the campers. Generally, they were assigned to the same kid year after year.
I kept hearing about a camper named Joey Pizzurro, a camper who seemed to have a reputation – and not a good one. He’d once released 100 grasshoppers into one of the girls’ cabins in the middle of the night! The day came when we were assigned our campers for the week. Of course, you can guess which camper was assigned to me.
I ended up working as Joey’s counselor every summer for 12 years. In my first year, he was a young child using a walker and still somewhat mobile. By the time he aged out of the program at 18, he was in an electric wheelchair, breathing and being fed through tubes. And it turned out he wasn’t the troublemaker the other counselors warned about. He was just a misunderstood prankster who wanted to have fun and bring joy and laughter to others.
During those camp summers, I gained more than I ever gave. He taught me how to see people the way God sees them. Joey taught me how to give without expecting anything in return. He taught me how to live with joy in the face of suffering.
Joey changed me. And through him, God showed me what stewardship really looks like. He taught me three lessons I want my own boys to learn:
1. Generosity is more than financial
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10
As adults, we often associate stewardship with money. But for kids, it starts with giving their time, energy, and presence. As Joey’s counselor, I wanted to be generous and give sacrificially what I could at that age.
One summer, Joey needed help using the bathroom – not once, but three times – in the middle of the night. So I got up each time. It wasn’t glamorous, and it wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do. We tend to think of generosity as financial; but it’s not just that. It’s being willing to serve in unseen and even inconvenient ways. That’s the kind of stewardship I want to pass on to my kids.
2. Live for others, not for yourself
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3–4
In the arts and crafts room one summer, I made the mistake of complaining that the hard metal chairs were uncomfortable. Joey’s disease had been progressing and he couldn’t speak well anymore, but he managed to get this message across: “At least you can get up.”
That quiet rebuke hit hard. We don’t live just to make our own lives comfortable. We live to serve, to lift others up, and to use what we’ve been given for their good. Joey reminded me that even suffering can be a classroom of grace.
3. Don’t waste life on trivialities
“For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.” – 1 John 2:16
Francis Chan uses a powerful illustration to help us visualize what it means to live in preparation for eternity. Using a rope to represent the length of our individual lives, he contrasts how short our time is here compared to forever in heaven. The actions we take daily shouldn’t be self-serving, but with our eyes directed ahead. Our goal should be to finish the race here and receive the crown of righteousness in heaven.
One summer, my sister was getting married in Hawaii, and our family planned to be there for two weeks. But the dates overlapped with the camp where I worked, the one Joey had been looking forward to all year. So, instead of joining the family vacation, I cut my trip short, leaving right after the wedding to come back and be with Joey. I’m not a hero for this, but I will say that I had to muster up some strength of character. Making the choice to show up for Joey during the week that mattered most to him was hard, but I know it was the right choice in the long run.
My sons are entering those formative preteen years, and I want them to know Joey’s story. I want them to understand that stewardship isn’t about giving because we’re supposed to. It’s about giving because we actually want to.
We say this a lot at my house: “We don’t watch things; we do things.” I want my boys to understand this isn’t just something we say – it comes from an experience I had when I was only a little older than they are now.
Everything we have belongs to God: our time, energy, talents, relationships. He’s entrusted us with these gifts to serve others and bring Him glory. Christians say this all the time, but Joey taught me what it actually means to give sacrificially, to find joy in serving others, and live beyond yourself.
That’s the kind of life I hope my boys grow up wanting to live.
