Ryan and I have the privilege to work with teenagers. When I take a moment to think back on the past 8 1/2 years, my mind fills with faces and lives. It is a wondrous and glorious thing for us to be able to open our home to these precious lives and see how God works in them. Of course I could paint a rosy picture of all the good times we have shared...and believe me there are some CRAZY times to share, but that would not be the reality of the everyday. Teens are no different than us grown ups... their hearts break, their friends lie about them and break trust with them, their parents divorce, they wrestle with their beliefs and much like ourselves they seem wise in their own eyes and follow a path that leads to destruction. The joy that comes from these times in teenagers lives is connection.
I want to connect with them, be real with them, love them enough to say "is that God's best for you?" Again, saying this sounds so "noble and caring", however after 8 1/2 years of youth ministry the everyday looks very different. The veil that will one day be removed is so thick and heavy, blocking what we really need to see. The veil that has covered my eyes is hopelessness... "but how?" Working with people and seeing the sin of my own heart leaves me so often in a place of hopelessness. I could graph out for you the progression of "youth ministry" and the outcome is soooooo bleak. My heart breaks for humanity and I am so thankful that Christ has come that we may have HOPE.
We (humanity) so desperately needs to CRY out to Jesus... He is our HOPE.
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