Good Intentions

I was looking through my pictures tonight, being nostalgic, and I ran across this one. It represents a myriad of good intentions. I had been at Pine Haven Christian Assembly for a week of camp last summer. During the week, each of us campers wrote on a stone; we wrote down an area of our life that we hadn't completely given over to God. Then we planted this tree and placed the stones around it. It was supposed to be a turning point . . . and at the time I really thought it was. Good intentions . . . but the actions didn't follow through. I came back from camp with a "spiritual high." The week touched me to the core and I really felt like God had spoken to me. I planned on making those changes in my life . . . really I did. But somehow time slipped away. And to be honest, I don't even remember what is written on my stone. I placed it there as a monument of a turning point, I was giving it over to God . . . but I can't even remember what God and I had talked about that week. What is it that keeps us from following through with our intentions? Why isn't my life a reflection of all that Christ has done for me? My stone still sits there around the tree at the campgrounds. Next year, all of the faculty will come back and look at the stones and say, "look at the way these kids grew." But mine will be a mockery. Mine won't signify change . . . mine will just be added to my list of good intentions. But does it have to be that way?