I am so blessed that I serve with the best Youth Pastor
ever! I have learned to give and receive
more grace than I ever thought possible!
Between Jesus, him, and his wife, I am inspired more each day to love
and serve teenagers and those leaders who serve with me.
A funny thing though…
no one can make me more crazy than Adam.
It actually makes me laugh. Well,
sometimes it doesn’t.
When I am about to lose my mind, I think about Adam’s
heart. You see, I am soooo lucky to serve
as an admin for our youth ministry. The down
fall of being an admin is that no one really knows what you do, until you don’t
do it. And sometimes I feel like I am
standing on my head trying to make things happen. I’ve learned to be in survival mode, a
lot. I am always looking for pot holes
that the enemy could use to trip us up.
It means I keep tums around for one of our leaders who ALWAYS has heart
burn. It means I always have pain
relievers, cold medicine, ace bandages, band aids… etc. It means I keep colored paper hidden so when
people use it all, I have a back up…
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in Youth Ministry
is to look at the heart of someone. You
see, Adam loves teenagers, and he will do anything, short of sin, in order to
lead teenagers to become fully devoted followers of Christ FOR THEIR WHOLE
LIFE! It means that sometimes there is “extra work” involved. And I will gladly accept that extra work if
it means that it makes something better, or that a kid goes on a winter retreat
because they otherwise couldn’t have gone.
I have learned one very important lesson. One that has served me well.
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at
the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart." 1 Sam 16:7
Now sometimes, I could just lose my mind about all the stuff
that I am juggling… and then here comes the best youth pastor ever and he
tosses me another one. And the truth is…
that I LOVE it, I don’t ever want him to stop doing it, but sometimes I have a
moment of “HOLY MOLY!!! If you would have told me that 3 days ago…. I could
have prepared better.” But here’s the
thing about Adam, he’s got just as many if not more things he’s juggling, and
at the end of the day, I look at his heart.
His all about Jesus, his family, and teenager love filled heart. And I breathe a little easier, (sometimes I sigh)
and carry on. I’m lucky to serve with
someone with that kind of heart.
And then… there are the teenagers… Oh I love teenagers. Even the sass pants trouble making ones. I
love them. Even if they think I don’t. I
do. Teenagers are probably one of God’s
greatest examples of looking at the heart not the appearance (or smell!!). As adults, we talk about how kids have it so
easy. Really? Clearly, you don’t remember what it was like
to be a teenager. Parents aren’t home
and out of their guilt, they buy them iphones…
or they give them money… and then
there is the opposite… parents who are barely making it… and kids don’t know where their next meal is
coming from. Selfish adults who come in
and out of their lives… I love them, it’s
hard, and heart breaking, but I look at their hearts. I see their beautiful hearts, even the hardest of them... and it brings me such joy to see them chase after God and break free from the world's chains and find complete freedom!
I have done a lot of things in my life, I have participated
in many things… Youth ministry is the
toughest job that I’ll ever love. And as
I love, God equips my heart to love more and more as it’s needed.
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