Importance of the Holy Huddle

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Sundays after church, we’d all hop in the fifteen-passenger van to go stuff our faces with the finest grub at the Chinese buffet in town before heading back to camp for our “holy huddle”. At least that’s what I called it.

Sun sick and tired from the week before, we’d find our spot on the camp store floor. Heads resting on other’s knees, or slouched up against the wall, we’d spend an hour in preparation for the week ahead. Sure first aid kits needed packed, as well as our gallon size bags full of supplies for Bible studies and campfires, but those things could wait.

Camp life isn’t for everyone; I get that. But to me, it’s as natural as breathing. It is an environment that I feel most at home (even compared to the place I lay my head every night), and it is a place that my Martha can be parked in a corner, and I can pick up my Mary.

Working on staff at the church camp that I grew up attending is one of the greatest blessings of my life. Even though I participated in those gatherings each Sunday afternoon for many summers, it wasn’t until years had passed and I longed to go back, that I recognized the importance of our holy huddles.

The hour could have been one of busy preparation, while our minds raced nervously over the list of names of children that would be in our care, but instead of pulling a “Martha”, our huddles allowed us to sit quietly in the cool of the AC, to worship, pray, seek advice, and really rest in the Lord.

That time was valuable. It was during that hour that we received our “assignment” from God for the week.

The place Mary found at Jesus’ feet is the same place available to you and me. It’s a place where we can be comfortable, where we can kick off our shoes and let down our hair. It’s a place of transparency and vulnerability; a place where we are completely known yet completely loved. It is truly a place called home.
– “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”, Joanna Weaver

Though I am away from my home-away-from-home, the invitation is still open. It is open to you as well.

Jesus welcomes us to set aside the tasks, even the ones that are necessary and even God-honoring, to make the better choice to sit and rest at His feet.

You who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
– Ephesians 2:13

You may not have an entire staff to join you in a holy huddle, and you may not have the access to the place that you feel most at home with the Lord, but praise God, Jesus is willing to meet us where we are, no matter the time, the circumstance, or the location!

It is at the feet of Jesus that we will find spiritual sustenance, instead of “spiritual Snickers bars” that only satisfy the hangry!

How can you make a place in your heart to welcome in Christ, so you can revel in the blessing of the holy huddle?