Need You Now

Today was one of those days when I love my job.  This morning I met with a family just starting to get involved with our church and got to share about our ministries with them.  This afternoon I took the largest group we've ever taken to pick up trash on the highway and they did a great job.

Then this evening, I got to hang out with some awesome teenagers at dinner, and then we played some amazing games - like 3-legged kick ball - that were also part of our Bible study lesson on how we are called to love God.  We played and laughed and learned together.  And to top it all off the weather was gorgeous, so we were able to enjoy that as we hung out.  And I found myself thinking - I am the luckiest person in the world - I get paid for this.

And then we went inside to conclude our Bible study.  The focus of tonight's Bible study was on loving God, with a special emphasis on how we need to grow in our relationship to God, and how sometimes we need to simply rest in God.  So I played this song:


And asked the youth to use sticky pads and write down their worries and lay them on the cross.  I really wish I had taken a picture of the cross.  Because let me tell you, the 21 youth who were there tonight had that cross covered with worries and stress in their lives.  There were worries like upcoming tests and projects and college decisions.  But there were also worries like depression. Bullying.  Gossip. True friends.  Families dealing with sickness. Expectations.  Self-image.  Being ignored/invisible.  Society. Suicide.  

The reality is our kids are hurting.  And my heart is hurting for them.  I look at that list and I don't even know where to start.  And that is where that song is hitting me tonight.  I need God because as great as I am at leading games and making connections in ways that would never cross most people's minds, these problems these youth are talking about are huge.  

So I do what I know I can do - I pray.  I pray for each of those youth.  I pray they know how many adults, including me, care for them, and are there for them no matter what.  I pray for teenagers in general. And beyond that,  I pray for each person out there who feels they are alone that they would know there is a God who loves them more than they can fathom.  I pray for those who feel no hope that they would remember the resurrection comes after the crucifixion, and it is only in making it through the suffering that we can experience the true hope Jesus offers.  I pray for those who hurt others that they would realize the pain being caused by their actions - and that they would experience love that heals their own wounds.  I pray for those who don't believe they are good enough that they would know God made them just the way they are.  I pray for those with big decisions to make that they would trust God with those decisions, but that they would also realize that turning around is possible when we make a mistake.  And I pray for each person reading this blog that you would realize you matter and are loved just as you are.  Lord, hear my prayer...

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