Recently we spent an evening with most of our small groups talking about our story with God. A few leaders shared personal experiences of their lives, including some very traumatic moments, and explained how God either intervened or how He was the firm foundation on which they could stand.
The young people were stunned to silence, the atmosphere in the room was all you could wish for as a youth worker – God had moved powerfully amongst everyone in the room through these accounts.
During the evening everyone took time to reflect on what God had done so far in their story, whilst understanding that everyone they’d heard from had a lifetime of experience – more than the teenage years barely experienced by most of the people in the room.
The time to sit, reflect, and talk amongst friends in a safe place that encourages honesty is invaluable at any age. It seems for the teenagers we work with that this is a practice they are able to find little time for. We hope we do all we can to cultivate a culture of meeting regularly to talk about life, the difficulties, and pray for one another. It is a vital part of life.
Jesus and his disciples walked great distances. Going for a walk or travelling together is a great way of finding time to talk with one another, to share difficulties, comfort one another, encourage one another, and admonish one another. We are made to live in community, what is this if not a vital part of that?
It’s like being in a band and having a good jam together – nothing planned, just wasting time. It seems that our cultural influence tells us wasting time is a bad thing. We compartmentalise work, sleep, and leisure, all of which have a purpose and leave no time for spontaneity or to get around to a point where we can share the harder aspects of life.
This is certainly a practice we endeavour to encourage and model ourselves. If only the week had more hours.
Tell us what you think;
gbcyouthministries 