Every Picture Tells A Story...


The past few hours I have been looking at pictures in my office. They aren't just any pictures, they are pictures that tell the stories of so many events, memories, and adventures we have had with our youth group over the past 7 years. In less than a week, I will have the opportunity to conduct my 7th graduation service, honoring the students that we have had the privilege of serving. It's crazy how fast time flies, how much people change, and how many memories we have gotten to share with our students. Every picture tells a story. I picked up pictures that told the story of students who had discovered God for the first time. I looked at pictures with the faces of students who had walked away from God and felt a deep sense of sadness. I picked up pictures of teens who had come face to face with injustice on our mission trips, having their hearts broken with the things that break the heart of God. I looked at pictures that just made me laugh...like when I let the boys talk me into wearing a full camouflage suit for capture the flag! I saw faces of teens who have touched my life, faces of teens who have kept me praying in the middle of the night, teens who have challenged me, teens who have encouraged me, teens who have made every moment meaningful. And I saw teens that Nate and I have invested so much time in, we consider them to be younger brothers and sisters to us.

And I couldn't help but have a full heart. So much of life is making memories and allowing God to use the experiences, the people, and the events that come into our lives to shape us. I am a better person because of the teens that have entered into my world. I can't event begin to imagine how much my life will be shaped by the experiences and memories created with my little ones that are coming. I imagine 10 years from now that I will find myself in my house, combing through hundreds of pictures that tell stories...stories of how two little ones changed the course of our life. They will be stories of adventure, stories of new traditions, stories of crazy things we do, and stories that will have shaped my life in way that wasn't even imaginable. And that makes my heart full.

By the way...those two girls at the top...some of my very first youth group kids who I would consider little sisters to me.

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