Today is my last Wednesday as a youth pastor. I'm excited because I'm getting closer to a new path in life, but also because we're having a cookout with the students tonight, meaning I get to eat a bunch of hot dogs and go toe-to-toe in an over-sized inflatable boxing ring. I'm looking forward to just hanging out with some kids I've gotten close to over the past year and eight months.
If I were to go through trying to name all the students I've had contact with and tell what I've seen in their lives, I wouldn't have time to write it all, no one would want to read it all, and I would probably leave too much out. There is a handful, though, in whose lives I've seen God's hand obviously at work, and I'm humbled to know that I have had at least a small part in it all.
There is one student I think about often. A little more than a year ago, I asked this student to consider taking part in a mission experience, confident God was leading particularly in this way. The problem was, the money wasn't there. I encouraged this student and prayed very specifically that God would provide the way, which He did. While I could point out plenty of negative about this student, that trip seemed to be a turning point and a hunger for God seems to be slowly taking over in her life.
There's another one I've become close to who amazes me with his faith. He prays often, and genuinely trusts God in every situation, even the situations that seem most trivial to us adults who are "too mature" to pray for the little things. It's almost as if this student's life is unimaginably simple. Even though I know for a fact that this student is facing challenges I hope I don't ever have to deal with, he seems so content and peaceful. For some reason, the majority of people I know, myself included, think that life is supposed to be far more complicated than this student lets on. I don't think it's because he is young, either. I think he has just caught on to the concept of faith better than the rest of us.
I could go on and on about students who have come out of their shells; students I've become friends with. One day recently, I was talking to a student who referred to himself as my best friend, saying it in such a way that I don't think even he realized his choice of words. How he meant it is beside the point. The fact is he identified himself in a friendship with me, for which I am grateful. It's amazing that a 13 or 14 year old would actually care whether or not I have any interest in his life.
When I started writing this post a few minutes ago, this is not the place I intended to end. My thoughts were originally headed in a completely different direction, but I'm thankful for the memories I've received over a relatively short period of time. While this place has been a brief stretch of road on the long journey that is the path to God's best for my life, I'm reminded by memories like these of the words in 1 Corinthians 15:58: Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. (The Message).
If I were to go through trying to name all the students I've had contact with and tell what I've seen in their lives, I wouldn't have time to write it all, no one would want to read it all, and I would probably leave too much out. There is a handful, though, in whose lives I've seen God's hand obviously at work, and I'm humbled to know that I have had at least a small part in it all.
There is one student I think about often. A little more than a year ago, I asked this student to consider taking part in a mission experience, confident God was leading particularly in this way. The problem was, the money wasn't there. I encouraged this student and prayed very specifically that God would provide the way, which He did. While I could point out plenty of negative about this student, that trip seemed to be a turning point and a hunger for God seems to be slowly taking over in her life.
There's another one I've become close to who amazes me with his faith. He prays often, and genuinely trusts God in every situation, even the situations that seem most trivial to us adults who are "too mature" to pray for the little things. It's almost as if this student's life is unimaginably simple. Even though I know for a fact that this student is facing challenges I hope I don't ever have to deal with, he seems so content and peaceful. For some reason, the majority of people I know, myself included, think that life is supposed to be far more complicated than this student lets on. I don't think it's because he is young, either. I think he has just caught on to the concept of faith better than the rest of us.
I could go on and on about students who have come out of their shells; students I've become friends with. One day recently, I was talking to a student who referred to himself as my best friend, saying it in such a way that I don't think even he realized his choice of words. How he meant it is beside the point. The fact is he identified himself in a friendship with me, for which I am grateful. It's amazing that a 13 or 14 year old would actually care whether or not I have any interest in his life.
When I started writing this post a few minutes ago, this is not the place I intended to end. My thoughts were originally headed in a completely different direction, but I'm thankful for the memories I've received over a relatively short period of time. While this place has been a brief stretch of road on the long journey that is the path to God's best for my life, I'm reminded by memories like these of the words in 1 Corinthians 15:58: Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. (The Message).
posted by Jonathan Branch at 12:54 PM
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