A Holy Moment

When teenagers make me tired, cranky, annoyed and frustrated, God sometimes let's me see Him at work, and it is a great gift.

Last night was one of those nights.  It was an evening where I was running late and several students needed a good solid bonking on the head (in my professional opinion).  It was an evening where I was out of sorts and tired and had spent 3 solid days teenager-sitting, which involved 2 arguments about going to church, one late-night sleepover and 7 other kids coming over.

And into Club (our high school youth group time) walked Hannah.  Hannah is not a girl that I connect well with, or have had many good experiences with.  But she had asked me to write a recommendation for her to be a part of a fashion panel group at the mall, which I thought she would be good at, so she came to Club to pick up the letter.  As we walked to my desk, we were talking and I found out that she actually liked being at Club that night.  And she told me that the next series we were going to do sounded like something she needed to hear.  And she thanked me for writing the letter because she didn't know who else would do something like that for her.

My heart was softened.  Not by what Hannah was saying, but by what God showed me in those moments.  He was showing me that even if sometimes she seems like a mean girl, or even if she is one, that she's still just a teenager who is desperately wanting someone to like her, to tell her she's ok in this world.  He reminded me that she needs Him, and He would even use a cranky, frustrated youth leader who didn't even like this girl much to reach out to her.

I gave her a hug on the way out and told her she should come back again.  Then it happened.  One of our core students (who acts more like Jesus than I do most days), came up and gave Hannah a side hug and told her she was glad she came tonight.  This other girl doesn't hang out with Hannah, or even have any classes with her that I know of.  She just knew Hannah had come by herself and that she needed to feel welcomed.

It is in those holy moments that I am humbled and in awe of a God who works in this world despite us.