Saturday night I picked up the guitar and was about to spend some personal time playing...but my cell phone started to ring!?!?!So I answer the phone and it was my daughter...she was crying! Oh man, did I run through an array of emotions in the first few seconds of the phone call. My daugther was crying and we were 2 1/2 hours from her...not a good feeling.
My daughter began sharing about some of the incidents that were happening around her. Someone had broken into their cabin and had stolen some money. As she continued to tell her story you could hear the frustration in her voice. As I continued to listen, I wanted to jump in the car and head down and rescue my daughter and find the one(s) responsible for her pain!!!!
But as a Youth Pastor, I have learned that I cannot rescue my students from their pain, we can only show them the way out. Although difficult, I swallowed hard and asked my daughter, "What are you going do?" Truly I had the answer in mind, but she needed to find her on way. In the depths of my soul, I knew she had the answer anyway.
She responds, "Dad, I want to go get revenge, but..." "But what, Terah?" "Well dad, I know that I can't! Jesus has told us to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us."
Oh my, my heart jumped for JOY! I was so proud of her. She GETS IT! She understands the NARROW WAY. She understands life as an "ordinary radical!"
I reaffirmed my daughter and said it was her opportunity to be "light" to those around her. We closed the conversation in prayer and I hung up with a smile on my face!
I wrote the following in my journal later that night...
"If I make no other disciple, serve at no other church, or never again preach a message; you have made my journey worth it!"
Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my life with you in this blog!!!
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