February 2008: basketball

Dear Family, 

A couple Fridays ago I learned a life lesson that I will never forget.  It was the night of Chester High’s first basket ball game, and I was taking a crew of fans.  The fan base that I was coordinating seemed to be getting smaller throughout game day.  I was getting irritated, frustrated, and disappointed, not in my teens, but in myself.  I wondered if they ditched the game because of me.  Did I embarrass them?  Do I expect too much? Am I in the wrong ministry position? As the questions raced, the night went on, and it seemed awful. 

We got to the game at the time on the schedule just to find out that Chester was to play the second game of the night, not at eight o’clock but at nine-thirty.  So we sat through a game of little interest to the three teens who managed to show up.  As Chester took the court, my phone rang, the excitement in the gym drowned out the beautiful melody, but the buzz of the text message caught my attention: it was Andrew, one of my co-workers. He wanted to know if everything was okay, and it was, so I texted, “Why?” He responded with a phone call and the explanation of rumors. There had been a rumor of retaliation. Someone was shot the night before, and tonight was supposed to be payback.  I had unknowingly led three beautiful teens into what could be a war zone. This really boosted my hopes for the night. 

At half-time we took off.  Nothing happened at the game, or after, but the threat of violence had prompted a considerable police presence at the event.  I dropped the teens off and went home, sulking. My roommate, Becca, gave me about five minutes to rant and feel sorry for myself before asking me one simple, yet loaded question, “What is your verse?” I gave her a look of disgust, and quoted this, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You” (2 Chronicles 20:12). That is the theme verse for the leadership team of CELEBRATION!, and that night it had more meaning than a sermon could have ever exposed. There are a ton of teens in Chester, and I am powerless and clueless, but my eyes must shift from my weaknesses and focus on God’s strength, who has this all planned out.  I do not believe that I should be sulking and pathetic all the time, but sometimes I need my roommate to remind me that God is where my focus should be, that He knows, and that He has the power to use even me. 

Please pray that God will impact teens in Chester.  Pray for me as I volunteer at Chester High on Wednesday mornings.  Pray a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for being all knowing and all 

powerful.