Tonight I spent time with about 30 high school aged kids. I only really spoke to 3 or 4 of them, but I was mostly present to enjoy their joy.

I went to my home church for their youth events that are held on Wednesdays. What I got from this was some perspective. Sweet, delicious perspective.

The older people get, the wiser they get. Or so I'm told. But I don't think this is true. I think that they older people get, the older they get. So often I heard in high school and college that I took things for granted. But I was also warned that I would one day take those times of my life for granted.

Does this mean we are constantly doomed to take everything for granted? I sincerely hope not. What I've learned over the past several years is that people are too concerned with appearances. People are too afraid to open up. People fear staying young, and fear growing up. People take the responsibilities of adulthood for granted and joy of youth for granted. I'm sensing some mixed signals here.

I decided tonight that we are not destined to take everything for granted. We are destined to dream, to regret, to triumph, to fail, to grow old, to die, to enrich, to enliven, to disappoint, to hurt, and any number of other things because we are human. We are destined to take many things for granted, but not everything.

Put aside the fears you have of growing up, put aside appearance, put aside the walls that you put up and the masks you put on, and live life. Because if their is one thing that you should never take for granted - it's that there is one person out there who will never be given pause by any of it, and who always care about all of it. Never take God for granted. He's always there, he's the spirit that dwells within you, the conduit for all your concerns - he is overjoyed by the positive things in your life and concerned for you when the negative rears its ugly head.


Numerous things sparked this thought process. Not just the happy youths around me, but the connection I felt to them despite being a complete stranger to most of them. One young man is moving to the midwest this weekend, leaving behind the support system that he has here - but not God, and not the prayers that this support system will continue to lift up for him. One young lady faces a terribly milestone on Friday - the first anniversary of her mother's death, and yet her friends and family, and above all God, have been with her through this year, blessed by her smile and her good nature. Or another guy, whose social ineptitude should try even the most patient man - but not in the church. People actively listen to him as he changes topics mid-thought, truly excited to hear his stories, even if for the tenth time. God provides for us in numerous ways, and while you can't always rely on people, you can always rely on God and on the tools he chooses to use in your day-to-day life.

And let me not leave out the take-away message of the evening - praising God. Wednesday youth services at my church are a lot like Dinner and a Message at CCF. Social time at the beginning and end, a free meal, some praise and worship, and a message. Tonight, though, was different - and not just because I grabbed what I thought was a pepperoni and jalepeno piece of pizze only to find the bitterness of green olives on my tongue. Tonight, the praise and worship and the message were closely linked. We sang 3 songs. Then we sang them again. Linda, the youth minister, encouraged everyone to close their eyes and raise their hands. Not simply because she wanted more active participation, but because she wanted focus. Then she encouraged us to listen intently to the words we sang and really and truly think about them, rather than recite them. I whole-heartedly subscribe to this. It's something I've oft thought about through my years enjoying praise and worship. You see people who really engage in the songs, and those who stand by and sing or do nothing. I accuse them of nothing. I just hope that EVERYone takes an actively role in understanding the lyrics to a praise and worship song - no matter their outward appearance. Even the most seemlingly pithy, cookie-cutter lyrics contain meaning. It's up to the individual to actively partake in that understanding.

I have a passion for praise and worship. I know a lot of people who do. But I also hear often "I don't like this song," or "That song is my favorite." I encourage people to put those ideas aside. Realize that no matter the song, and no matter the lyrics - when you sing these songs you should be praying to the one worthy of all praise.



Outside of all that: 3 weeks.