There's a story called "Along the Path" by an unknown author that describes two pots designed to carry water. One pot is perfect and holds all the water that it's supposed to carry. The other pot is cracked and leaks out half of its water on the way back from the stream. The water bearer realizes this failure and plants flower seeds along the cracked pot's side of the path. Each day, the cracked pot waters the seeds until beautiful flowers grow.
I shared this story with the youth this week and told them about my own failures - specifically related to being social and the small talk of getting to know people. Blame my introversion, or lack of social graces, or whatever, but I find it most challenging when I'm supposed to be in random conversation...especially with 12-17 year olds...especially since I'm an alien from another planet being from urban Ontario. Youth is not my area of expertise. Why I have been placed in the position of leader for CGC's youth is something only God understands. Sure, I have a heart for them to love Jesus and have a dedicated, life-transformative relationship with Him and sure, I can teach and I love leading devotions and such, but I'm not a social person.
I shared with the youth my life verse, 2 Corinthians 9:12, where God says to a struggling Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you; my power is made perfect in weakness." I told the youth straight up about my failure, where I feel I don't measure up to what is expected of me, where I don't carry the amount of water that I'm designed to carry. They then broke into partners to talk about their own perceived failures and what they thought about the story and the verse - even if they didn't really believe it.
It's funny - God gave me some good conversations with a few of the youth through this, which made my day. It's funny - God sometimes touches us and reminds us of exactly what we need to remember as we teach others a lesson. It's funny - God always works through our weaknesses and who knows the flowers that are able to grow because of it.
Saturday, 26 September 2015
Saturday, 19 September 2015
No Less a Part of the Kingdom
My education says that I'm a teacher. That $100 000, 5-years-in-the-making piece of paper that says my name under "Bachelor of Education" declares that I have spent quality hours around children - teaching them, being relational with them and guiding their curiosity and energy. We have arrived upon the completion of one full week of work as Associate here at CGC and most of what I've been thinking about, planning for and working with are kids.
KZAMM, our children's ministry, stands for "Krazy About Meeting the Master"...I didn't make it up... That's exactly what I want the kids and the youth here to be - committed to a relationship with Christ, meeting Him and seeking after Him and listening to Him. I'm trying not to reinvent the wheel here in KZAMM, since some really good things have been set down already, but we finished our Super Church Sunday School this past Sunday splitting into three groups to pray. Each child was given a turn to share requests/praise and then given the opportunity to pray out loud. Children's prayers, as innocent and simple as they can be, are incredibly powerful!
CHILDREN ARE NO LESS A PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE THEY ARE CHILDREN. They are no less equipped for spiritual battle, no less able to hear God's voice, no less in tune with the Holy Spirit as adults. This is the vision that I have for both children's and youth ministry.
Which is exactly what I said to the youth on Friday night. We'd all gathered to have a bonfire, eat some homemade goodies, play some games and have some lighthearted conversation to kick start the year of youth. For me, this was the first time meeting most of the jr. highs/teens. (It's combined at CGC.) If you know me and know much about my previous ministry, I may be a teacher, but my education and comfort level only goes up to grade 6. These lovely people are older than grade 6. I thought I wouldn't have much to offer to these teens, simply because I know myself and my lack of expertise in this area. However, I do know one thing: TEENS ARE NO LESS A PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE THEY ARE TEENS. As part of my little introductory "Hey! This is me; I'm your new leader. I'm messed up, so don't expect perfection," shpeal, I told them that their relationship with God - a two-way communicative relationship - is most important. You can't just talk to God and not listen to Him as He listens to you. That's a dysfunctional relationship.
We left time at the end for questions. A young girl, no older than grade 8, asks, "How do you know that it's God when you listen?" I just smiled as I gazed into the dwindling embers. I got to talk about how the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, how God speaks to each of us differently, just as we'd speak differently to our parents vs. our friends, how God speaks through the Bible, through thoughts and visions and other people and prayer. Teens can hear from God just as well as any adult can. Some of the time I've heard from God the clearest was when I was a teenager. These youth need to know that and walk in that.
They are no less a part of the Kingdom.
KZAMM, our children's ministry, stands for "Krazy About Meeting the Master"...I didn't make it up... That's exactly what I want the kids and the youth here to be - committed to a relationship with Christ, meeting Him and seeking after Him and listening to Him. I'm trying not to reinvent the wheel here in KZAMM, since some really good things have been set down already, but we finished our Super Church Sunday School this past Sunday splitting into three groups to pray. Each child was given a turn to share requests/praise and then given the opportunity to pray out loud. Children's prayers, as innocent and simple as they can be, are incredibly powerful!
CHILDREN ARE NO LESS A PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE THEY ARE CHILDREN. They are no less equipped for spiritual battle, no less able to hear God's voice, no less in tune with the Holy Spirit as adults. This is the vision that I have for both children's and youth ministry.
Which is exactly what I said to the youth on Friday night. We'd all gathered to have a bonfire, eat some homemade goodies, play some games and have some lighthearted conversation to kick start the year of youth. For me, this was the first time meeting most of the jr. highs/teens. (It's combined at CGC.) If you know me and know much about my previous ministry, I may be a teacher, but my education and comfort level only goes up to grade 6. These lovely people are older than grade 6. I thought I wouldn't have much to offer to these teens, simply because I know myself and my lack of expertise in this area. However, I do know one thing: TEENS ARE NO LESS A PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE THEY ARE TEENS. As part of my little introductory "Hey! This is me; I'm your new leader. I'm messed up, so don't expect perfection," shpeal, I told them that their relationship with God - a two-way communicative relationship - is most important. You can't just talk to God and not listen to Him as He listens to you. That's a dysfunctional relationship.
We left time at the end for questions. A young girl, no older than grade 8, asks, "How do you know that it's God when you listen?" I just smiled as I gazed into the dwindling embers. I got to talk about how the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, how God speaks to each of us differently, just as we'd speak differently to our parents vs. our friends, how God speaks through the Bible, through thoughts and visions and other people and prayer. Teens can hear from God just as well as any adult can. Some of the time I've heard from God the clearest was when I was a teenager. These youth need to know that and walk in that.
They are no less a part of the Kingdom.
Friday, 4 September 2015
Temporary
Two years ago, I sat in this very chair outside in my parents' backyard and wrote a blog post about leaving for my semester-long internship in Ghana. It is now the eve of my departure for Alberta and a new chapter in life and I can't help but think that this is only temporary. Every other time that I've left on a plane, I knew when I was coming back. I knew how many months I'd be gone for and I had an idea of what to look forward to both on my adventure away and when I came back.
This time, it's not temporary.
This time, I'll be staying away from my beloved home in Hamilton for who knows how long, how many years. I leave for Alberta tomorrow. It's a scary thing to think about, when your whole life and most of the people that you love are all in one province and you are leaving it for a permanent job. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly excited about it and I've had some conversations about Children's Ministry and I've brainstormed ideas for the youth and church life in general, but the psychological and emotional toll that moving far away takes on your mind is exhausting. Throw in there an unexpected, late night trip to the emergency vet and you have one mentally drained Cheryl who desperately needs some alone time away with God.
And He gives just what we need. After a busy night of packing last night, the wind started to pick up and slight raindrops fell as a thunderstorm rolled in. Perfect. I call them my date with God, for I stop everything to watch and listen to the loud, deep rumble of His voice in the thunder, the grand strength of the wind and falling water and the beauty of the splendid lightning that tears across the sky so powerfully, so quickly. I sat on the front porch last night in the lovely heat of a summer's eve and listened. And sang. And listened some more as God played a mighty tune in the air and spoke in a loving voice in my heart. I sat on that porch where I grew up and revelled in the memories, in the people, in the peace and in the power of an Almighty God who has never once failed me.
That storm was temporary. God's love and power and beauty is here to stay.
This time, it's not temporary.
This time, I'll be staying away from my beloved home in Hamilton for who knows how long, how many years. I leave for Alberta tomorrow. It's a scary thing to think about, when your whole life and most of the people that you love are all in one province and you are leaving it for a permanent job. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly excited about it and I've had some conversations about Children's Ministry and I've brainstormed ideas for the youth and church life in general, but the psychological and emotional toll that moving far away takes on your mind is exhausting. Throw in there an unexpected, late night trip to the emergency vet and you have one mentally drained Cheryl who desperately needs some alone time away with God.
And He gives just what we need. After a busy night of packing last night, the wind started to pick up and slight raindrops fell as a thunderstorm rolled in. Perfect. I call them my date with God, for I stop everything to watch and listen to the loud, deep rumble of His voice in the thunder, the grand strength of the wind and falling water and the beauty of the splendid lightning that tears across the sky so powerfully, so quickly. I sat on the front porch last night in the lovely heat of a summer's eve and listened. And sang. And listened some more as God played a mighty tune in the air and spoke in a loving voice in my heart. I sat on that porch where I grew up and revelled in the memories, in the people, in the peace and in the power of an Almighty God who has never once failed me.
That storm was temporary. God's love and power and beauty is here to stay.
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