When I was a teenager, I did not connect well with other teens, and to be honest, that really bothered me. Part of the reason was the simple fact that I didn't know many other teens, and most of the time I spent with other people, was spent with adults. The church Christmas party was with adults, the valentines party was with the adults, etc.
In college, I worked on a church bus route, and loved every minute of it, and loved the kids too. They knew I loved them, and loved me in return with very few exceptions. I never was able in the ten years or more that I worked a bus route to connect with the teenagers that were on my bus though.
After college, my wife, Sandra and I took on the responsibility of working in a special needs class at church on Sundays. That was a bit of a challenge, but we learned quickly to love the class and the people in the class. The special needs people that we loved responded by loving us in return, and when they returned that love they held nothing back.
During that time, I decided that I would never work with teens. I didn't like them. I didn't understand them. I couldn't connect with them. Little did I know that only a few years later, that is exactly what God would have me do! Our pastor asked me only a few years later to be the youth pastor at our church, and to be honest...I didn't want to do it! I finally agreed, and for nearly four years I struggled trying to learn how to be a youth pastor.
In the last two years, I have learned to love our teenagers. That is something that I have never been able to truly do. I still struggle to understand them. I still struggle to connect. I still struggle to know sometimes what they need, but I love them.
All that being said, there are times when I don't get to see our young people, and talk to them. I never thought that not being able to see a teenager would make my heart ache, but let me tell you...it does. I love our young people, and the fact that they want to serve the Lord.
I took this video of them singing at church the other day. They were singing in the van while we went to get some coffee at Dutch Brothers, and I enjoyed it so much that I made them sing one of the songs in church the following evening. I've watched it a couple of times in the last few days, and have enjoyed it more each time! There are still a few young people missing from this video that I would have loved to see and hear sing with them, but knowing that they enjoy singing helps to soothe this aching heart.
I don't recommend watching unless you are on WIFI. It's a pretty large file! You will also have to excuse the buzz in the background...someone was trying to call me, and the vibrate mode was coming through the video! Oops!
