thrice-told tale; third times a charm

Our son Court came running up to us at the church coffee hour.  “Mom! Dad! Can I have some money to go to Taco Bell with the other kids?” 

Every Sunday after church a gang of teens and tweens from the youth group would gather and head out on the five-block walk to the local Taco Bell.  This was a mixed bag of kids, dealing with a variety of issues:   dyslexia, Asberger’s, a cancer survivor, some brilliantly high achievers, some with ADHD.  There was one girl who lived with her aunt because of parents unable to take care of her.  There were kids who came from homes where there had been divorce and emotional upheaval.  All were welcome to come along…no one was ever excluded .

One week an older member of our congregation happened to go to Taco Bell to pick up his own lunch.  Our youth were all out on the restaurant’s playground, chatting and laughing and being kids.  They saw Larry and all yelled in unison, “Hi, Larry!”  The manager of the place asked Larry, “Do you know those kids?”  Larry braced himself.  Was he about to get an earful about how obstreperous they were being? 

When Larry admitted that they all went to his church, the manager of Taco Bell said, “They come in here every week.  They are the nicest, most respectful group of kids I’ve ever seen!”  Don’t you know that Larry heaved a sigh of relief?!

These kids knew that they needed community so much that they found every opportunity to be together.  They didn’t really need adults to show them how it’s done.  We adults learned from them how to build a cohesive group.  Starting a youth group was easy, because they were so eager to be together and to invite their friends.  

The prophet Isaiah said of the day of reconciliation, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat….and a little child will lead them.”  He was predicting the coming of Jesus.  But it is still true that we have a lot to learn from the young! 

I’ve told you three versions of how our church youth group came about and functioned.  Each version is driven by the decisions and desires of different people.  Which protagonist resonates with you?  Which story do you find most heroic? 

Love, Liz