You should have seen it...
So this assignment at Woodleaf, the camp that I volunteer at every summer, has been all sorts of crazy. Intense personal struggle and redefinition of areas of my life. Some very sick kids with things ranging from massive endocrine dysfunction to treating 18 moderate to severe asthmatics last night after allergy attacks. Crazy stuff. And then getting to know and love kids and leaders here, coming along side them in prayer, in friendship and in service. I LOVE THIS LIFE!
The highlight so far...
Tonight I went to the Young Life "Club" which is the meeting where there are songs, skits, and a talk. At Young Life camps, the week's talks progress slowly, starting with the idea that there may be a God, leading to topics of sin, the cross, how to live if you chose to believe in this Jesus.
After tonight's talk which was the message of the cross and why Jesus died for us, I sat inside and prayed while the kids were challenged to take 15 minutes sitting in the dark by themselves and just think about the things they had heard over the course of the week. I watched one kid, whose name I do not know yet sit in the main room also instead of going into the dark. He's an African-American kid, probably around 15 or so. He was dressed in his saggy shorts, a Starter jersey and do-rag and Giants baseball cap. The do-rag and hat were both grey camouflage. He sat with his head bowed for about the first four or five minutes. Then he started to look around and see who, if anyone, was watching him. He slowly made his way to the front of the room, where there was a large cross, hewn from old heavy wood, with railroad ties driven into the hand areas and into the foot areas that was used as a demonstration in the talk. This kid "snuck" up to the front, obviously unsure that someone he knew might be watching. Then he walked to the cross and knelt in front of it, not back on his heals, but erect, not moving, head bowed. He didn't move a muscle for a good seven or eight minutes. And then the best part happened. He slowly rocked back onto his heels, and would take occasional glances up at the cross, as if he was visualizing Jesus hanging there above him. He did this a few times, staring more and more at the place where Jesus was on that cross for him. He tentatively reached out his hand finally. There was the greatest sense of anticipation at that moment for me. Wanting so desperately for this child to take the most momentous action of his life. I was praying, screaming encouragement in my heart for him as he finally took that step and gently touched the cross, almost in a caress and then in a firm grip around that rough wood. He just stayed there for a few seconds, head bowed, resting trusting, holding onto the cross....
You should have seen it....
The highlight so far...
Tonight I went to the Young Life "Club" which is the meeting where there are songs, skits, and a talk. At Young Life camps, the week's talks progress slowly, starting with the idea that there may be a God, leading to topics of sin, the cross, how to live if you chose to believe in this Jesus.
After tonight's talk which was the message of the cross and why Jesus died for us, I sat inside and prayed while the kids were challenged to take 15 minutes sitting in the dark by themselves and just think about the things they had heard over the course of the week. I watched one kid, whose name I do not know yet sit in the main room also instead of going into the dark. He's an African-American kid, probably around 15 or so. He was dressed in his saggy shorts, a Starter jersey and do-rag and Giants baseball cap. The do-rag and hat were both grey camouflage. He sat with his head bowed for about the first four or five minutes. Then he started to look around and see who, if anyone, was watching him. He slowly made his way to the front of the room, where there was a large cross, hewn from old heavy wood, with railroad ties driven into the hand areas and into the foot areas that was used as a demonstration in the talk. This kid "snuck" up to the front, obviously unsure that someone he knew might be watching. Then he walked to the cross and knelt in front of it, not back on his heals, but erect, not moving, head bowed. He didn't move a muscle for a good seven or eight minutes. And then the best part happened. He slowly rocked back onto his heels, and would take occasional glances up at the cross, as if he was visualizing Jesus hanging there above him. He did this a few times, staring more and more at the place where Jesus was on that cross for him. He tentatively reached out his hand finally. There was the greatest sense of anticipation at that moment for me. Wanting so desperately for this child to take the most momentous action of his life. I was praying, screaming encouragement in my heart for him as he finally took that step and gently touched the cross, almost in a caress and then in a firm grip around that rough wood. He just stayed there for a few seconds, head bowed, resting trusting, holding onto the cross....
You should have seen it....
0 comments:
Post a Comment