The past few days have been the busiest days EVER here in the office of the Nielsen Physical Education Center. Hence why I didn't update you yesterday on how speaking in youth group went. In fact, the only things I did yesterday here at my desk that weren't strictly work were introducing myself on Sam's blog, and paying my credit card bill. No blog-surfing, no checking the news, no writing about my life, no funny stories or jokes or pictures. Just the phones ringing off the hook and e-mails pouring in and people constantly streaming in and out needing something. And today hasn't been much better...BUT that will not stop me this time!!!!!
So, for those of you who are curious about how youth group went on Wednesday night, I'll tell you right here and right now. (For those of you who aren't curious, you can go ahead and stop reading now...) It was scary. Being honest with other people is scary - honest about what I struggle with, honest about the lessons about people and God and myself which I have learned the hard way. But there is also something very freeing about being honest. And the kids were surprisingly quiet and attentive for most of the time, which is a rarity! Pastor Don commented to me at the end that he thinks that sometimes when there is tittering going on among them, it is probably because the words were hitting home for some of them and that made them uncomfortable. Go, Holy Spirit! Do Your work! So many of those kids are struggling not to be defined by their situations over which they have no control, like divorced parents, siblings in jail, poverty, and sexual abuse, and they need to know that there is a treasure in them that no amount of pressing or crushing can destroy - the image of God, that is being made clearer and brighter as we are being renewed day by day. And if it was (hopefully) good for them, it was also definitely good for me, knowing that as God does work through me, He is also doing work in me, to peel away a little more of the dirt and grime and pride and show that this strength comes not of any merit of mine, but by the grace of God.
Amen and amen.
1 comment:
and amen. hey, becca, thanks for posting on my blog! i hope i can meet you face to face this april!
one thing i've found about junior highers (i worked with that age group for a couple of years when i was in wheaton) is that they respect and respond positively to honesty (though sometimes they'd take that as a go ahead to spill their deepest darkest secrets!) more than anything else (and i'm as bad as amy in making parenthetical statements. look, another one!).
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