Weekends are for…..
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” – Frederick Douglas
While contemplating the activities for a relaxing weekend, I suspect the very last thing that might come to mind is spending two days with three thousand high school age teenagers, including several hours in one large room. “Deafening” takes on a whole new meaning. Our church wisely organizes several of these age-appropriate events during the year – some off-site retreats, and some local, but spread out in hundreds of individual homes, with a nightly gathering on the campus. Have you ever seen 300 boxes of pizza?
It is absolutely frightening to consider both the toxins and the distractions our kids are relentlessly confronted with in this info-overload, social media besieged world. Smart phones are incredible pieces of portable technology, but they also have the dark potential to construct a visual pipeline of bad stuff into developing brains. Media constantly formulates images of success, contentment and popularity that are difficult, if not impossible to emulate, as if one would even want to. Self-esteem is constantly bombarded.
I respectfully submit, it is up to us adults to serve our youth as mentors, as listeners, and as role models for appropriate behavior. Sure, we may carry our own personal baggage, yet past mistakes and regrets are easily parlayed into teachable moments – been there, done that, and it did not end well for me. Ironically, they will listen to the same instruction from group leaders that comes from parents, but wistfully ignored since they are…..parents.
A lot of us were deeply moved to look around a raucous auditorium on a Saturday night through the bright lights, haze and base-heavy music to see literally hundreds of adults cultivating these teenagers, and noticing these kids were engaged. They were listening. They are our future.
A wonderful Proverb (22) affirms, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Some of us firmly believe that verse just may be THE most important thing we can devote our time to, however, sporting events are invigorating, and improved golf handicaps are always desirable.
At the end of the day, such pursuits pale into comparison with respect to the young person who will one day stand at the critical intersection of two paths – one virtuous on the right, one fraught with peril to the left. And that young person will briefly pause to reflect on a message once discussed in a dimly lit basement late one night amidst his peers and group leaders, collect his thoughts, and boldly turn right.
Help us build strong children, and I promise you will be blessed by doing so.