Yesterday, during my youthworker retreat, we were talking about something that I had been thinking about a lot lately. We were discussing how important it is for youth to share with their friends and family about God. One of the youthworkers mentioned something he does with his group. They have a youth share each week. That way, it helps them to start feeling comfortable sharing in a safe setting before they go out in the world and share with others. I was really excited when he shared that. It was like a light bulb going off in my head. I talked to him further during some free time and he told me a little more about it. The more I talked to him, the more I was picturing how it could work in our group.
I was anxious to get that started as soon as possible. It just so happened, I had a youth who is normally hesitant to share. During discussion times, she sometimes passed rather than answer. It was never in a rude way, just in an "I'm not comfortable sharing yet" sort of way. We talked after youth last Sunday about some things that she was comfortable sharing with me. Later in the week, she sent me a message saying she was ready to share her story, hoping to help others going through similar things. So, it was a perfect way to introduce this into our evening as a new part of our routine.
As I talked about it before I told the group she was going to share, I had several people who volunteered to share whenever I wanted them to. They seemed excited about the new addition to our routine. I was happy about that since it cut 5- 10 minutes out of game time and I thought I might get some protests at first. I didn't get 1. So, then I introduced the girl who was sharing tonight.
At first she didn't know where to start. But, as soon as she did, she went into a story starting several years earlier filled with sadness and despair. Then, she said, she came to youth group for the first time with a friend. That began her story of hope. It was a beautiful story of where she was and where she is today, and how she wants to help others with her story. Not a sound was in that room tonight as the group listened to their friend sharing with them for the first time. It was a blessing to everyone there.
So, where was God today? A couple weeks ago, I shared on here some frustrations I had about where things were going and what we were doing. It's moments like tonight that God shows me that I'm right where I'm supposed to be!
Blessings,
Jennifer
I was anxious to get that started as soon as possible. It just so happened, I had a youth who is normally hesitant to share. During discussion times, she sometimes passed rather than answer. It was never in a rude way, just in an "I'm not comfortable sharing yet" sort of way. We talked after youth last Sunday about some things that she was comfortable sharing with me. Later in the week, she sent me a message saying she was ready to share her story, hoping to help others going through similar things. So, it was a perfect way to introduce this into our evening as a new part of our routine.
As I talked about it before I told the group she was going to share, I had several people who volunteered to share whenever I wanted them to. They seemed excited about the new addition to our routine. I was happy about that since it cut 5- 10 minutes out of game time and I thought I might get some protests at first. I didn't get 1. So, then I introduced the girl who was sharing tonight.
At first she didn't know where to start. But, as soon as she did, she went into a story starting several years earlier filled with sadness and despair. Then, she said, she came to youth group for the first time with a friend. That began her story of hope. It was a beautiful story of where she was and where she is today, and how she wants to help others with her story. Not a sound was in that room tonight as the group listened to their friend sharing with them for the first time. It was a blessing to everyone there.
So, where was God today? A couple weeks ago, I shared on here some frustrations I had about where things were going and what we were doing. It's moments like tonight that God shows me that I'm right where I'm supposed to be!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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