What the World Is Looking For...
The other night, I was sitting in my kitchen with a friend who had just stopped by for a little bit to hang out, when my phone rang. Preoccupied, I chose not to answer it, figuring if it was that important, the teen would text me too. About two minutes passed, when all of a sudden I heard this crazy loud knock on my door. When I opened it, there stood a sophomore boy from my youth group, completely out of breath, with this look of shock on his face.
To be honest, my first thought was, "oh my word...someone died." That was quickly replaced with, "oh my word...someone's in labor," as that same teenager blurted out, "she's ready!!! Within a matter of seconds, all my confusion turned into crazy excitement, as I found out "she's ready" actually meant one of our senior high girls who we had been praying for, for about 2 years, had finally decided to give her life to Christ.
The next 15-20 minutes that unfolded would become one of those moments as a Youth Pastor that you keep locked in the back of your mind for those days where you think no one is really getting it.
The teenager that knocked on my door had literally ran from his house to mine to make sure that I was there to be a part of this moment that would forever change this young girl's life. Within minutes, he and his brother had contacted youth leaders, Pastors, friends, and family, and before we knew it, 25 of us were sitting in a living room sharing our own stories of God's faithfulness, and praying with this girl as she prayed honestly to the God who had been relentlessly pursuing her. Words can't depict the beauty of that moment, but what I do know is, it felt a little like what I picture the early church to have looked like.
Since moving to Boston, I've realized life operates at an insane pace here. Every day, I find myself more and more wrapped up in the to-do's of the day, my agenda for the week, and all the things I have deemed as "can't wait until tomorrow's." Before I know it, there are only a few hours left in the day, and tomorrow comes faster than I can fall asleep. It's the vicious cycle of busyness that not only seems to have a death grip on us, but often leaves us wrestling with a loneliness that we can't shake.
Somehow, we've come to value busyness over relationship.
What if every once in awhile we just dropped our to-do list, set aside our agendas, and ran towards each other because we wanted to share in those moments that are profoundly shaping us? What if we purposely paused long enough from our busy schedules and gathered together to pray? What if we invited friends into ordinary spaces like living rooms and coffee shops and shared stories that somehow pointed back to this God who relentlessly pursues us.
Maybe we'd find busyness is overrated and relationships are key.
Maybe what we discover is exactly what this world is searching for.
To be honest, my first thought was, "oh my word...someone died." That was quickly replaced with, "oh my word...someone's in labor," as that same teenager blurted out, "she's ready!!! Within a matter of seconds, all my confusion turned into crazy excitement, as I found out "she's ready" actually meant one of our senior high girls who we had been praying for, for about 2 years, had finally decided to give her life to Christ.
The next 15-20 minutes that unfolded would become one of those moments as a Youth Pastor that you keep locked in the back of your mind for those days where you think no one is really getting it.
The teenager that knocked on my door had literally ran from his house to mine to make sure that I was there to be a part of this moment that would forever change this young girl's life. Within minutes, he and his brother had contacted youth leaders, Pastors, friends, and family, and before we knew it, 25 of us were sitting in a living room sharing our own stories of God's faithfulness, and praying with this girl as she prayed honestly to the God who had been relentlessly pursuing her. Words can't depict the beauty of that moment, but what I do know is, it felt a little like what I picture the early church to have looked like.
Since moving to Boston, I've realized life operates at an insane pace here. Every day, I find myself more and more wrapped up in the to-do's of the day, my agenda for the week, and all the things I have deemed as "can't wait until tomorrow's." Before I know it, there are only a few hours left in the day, and tomorrow comes faster than I can fall asleep. It's the vicious cycle of busyness that not only seems to have a death grip on us, but often leaves us wrestling with a loneliness that we can't shake.
Somehow, we've come to value busyness over relationship.
What if every once in awhile we just dropped our to-do list, set aside our agendas, and ran towards each other because we wanted to share in those moments that are profoundly shaping us? What if we purposely paused long enough from our busy schedules and gathered together to pray? What if we invited friends into ordinary spaces like living rooms and coffee shops and shared stories that somehow pointed back to this God who relentlessly pursues us.
Maybe we'd find busyness is overrated and relationships are key.
Maybe what we discover is exactly what this world is searching for.
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