This guest post is written by Jodie Swee, a YL Area Director in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to being a Young Life leader, she is also a wife and mother of two. Jodie is passionate about Diet Coke and checking FB at stoplights….both of which she is trying to quit. Currently her world is being rocked by the book “One Thousand Gifts.”
Hello dear friends of Young Life!
I’m sitting at my desk this morning reflecting on what God is doing through the ministry of Young Life right now. I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. It’s thrilling and makes my heart soar…and at other times it makes my stomach drop. We pray, we connect, we share God’s Word, we laugh, and we pray some more. We pray that what we are doing is making a difference. We pray that our precious high school and middle school friends will be transformed by the love of Christ.
Sometimes I give in to doubt, and start to wonder if it’s worth the care, time, and resources we all pour in. There are so many good causes out there, and so many places to invest. I doubt….and then I am given a gentle reminder. Today, it was through some pictures posted on Facebook. There is something in these pictures that moves me, and it took me a minute to put my finger on it….
It is joy and freedom. A glimpse captured by a camera. It is a promise by God that He is at work in their lives. A reminder that it is slow and painstaking work to produce true transformation and real joy, and that it is our job as leaders to care for and tend to our young friends in this season of their lives. That without our presence right now – praying, connecting, laughing, sharing God’s word, giving of our time and resources – most of them would probably never even know the hope to which they are called. No work would be happening in their hearts, and they would be left to the whims and devices of a cold world.
Ah, the reminder. What we are doing is worth everything we’ve got to give. So on this morning I give thanks to God. I give thanks for the ministry of Young Life, and for the people who make it possible.
