Thursday, October 23, 2014

Heartbroken

Last night my heart was broken.

Let me explain. I was starting off the lesson in the usual way, with prayer requests and praise reports. One girl, who I will call Jane, said that her mom started rehab recently and since her dad is in jail she is living with her cousins. After Jane said that, she said that she missed her dad more now that her mom is gone. Jane looked at me said in a soft voice that I can't describe in any way except hurt and confused; "I write him all the time, but for some reason he never writes back."

My heart!! Readers, I was broken for this girl.


Times like this are when I thank God that I have multiple youth sponsors. One of us locked eyes and with that one look I could tell that he felt the exact same way that I did. But his fiancee and another youth sponsor both took control of the situation and shushed Jane's friend that wouldn't stop blabbering about the situation.


This is youth ministry. It's hard, painful, and heartbreaking. But it works and its worth it. All of my youth come from situations almost identical to this, and I have seen them grow in ways that the only way I can describe it is the work of God. They have no guidance in their lives because their parents either aren't there or simply do not care. This isn't a localized event, this is everywhere. All youth ministries have to deal with things like this.

 I love every single one of my youth, and I know that God has amazing plans for them. Can you imagine the people that they will be able to help when the are older? Think about all that they have been through! In the meantime they need someone to be there for them before they can be there for others. Who in your life needs you?

No comments:

Post a Comment