 I love that I can wake up in the morning and have a purpose in my step and vision in my eyes. I love that I can even in the midst of trials know that God is supreme, He is faithful, and that living and dying for the Cause is worth it. Every moment of it.
Last night was great, it was incredible. There is nothing better than watching young people have a passion and a desire for God.
These young people are my inspiration, my heroes. Alot of them come from such broken lives, broken families, broken hearts. Yet there is a drive in them, a fire, that allows them to continue to stand on their feet and keep on fighting. No matter what.
One girl, I will call her Warrior for the sake of this blog entry, inspires me to lay my life down for the King. By God's grace I was able to meet her a couple of years ago, and I can tell you, that since that meeting my life has been incredibly changed. See, a few years ago I would spend my time hanging out in the youth detention center. You know, a place where the so-called "bad kids" would be locked up. And yes, alot of them did do "bad" things such as steal cars, stab people, kidnap people, and so forth. But even though they were "bad" in society, their hearts were so... beautiful. Alot of them challenged me as to why I live my life the way I live my life. Alot of them forced me to go to a new place in my relationship with God and to grow as a christian.
Anyways, back to the story... I would hang out with these kids and one particular evening I met a young girl who was trying to hide and blend in with the couch cushions. There was so much fear in her eyes. It was her first night being locked-up and she hadn't yet been sentenced. We spent the night talking and she shared her heart with me, it was a special moment that will forever be in my memories. Over the next month that she was locked-up we bonded and she took a favour to me, always opting to choose to sit next to me throughout the activities. Once she was released however, I lost contact with her.
Yet, I just could not get her off my heart. Or her family. Her family were just ingrained in me, I had never met them, but God had given me such a love for that family. So I began to pray and ask God for an opportunity to know the family, to somehow, leave a mark there.
A few months later, by events that can only be described as God's intervention, this young girl and I connected outside of lock-up. Her and her best friend, also an ex-juvy kid, took an interest in God and began to follow me to church, and cell/life/small group.
This is where Warrior comes into it.
One night I'm at the young girls house and I'm meeting her family. Her mum, so beautiful so precious... and yes, who I still spend time with... she is a single mother with 8 children. Four different dads. None of the children know their fathers. Life sometimes throw curve balls at us that hurt. I'm in the lounge room waiting for the young girl to be ready and come with me to cell/life/small group. As I'm waiting, a loud-mouthed with the vocabulary of a truck driver, peroxided blonde hair, short unsightly mini-skirt, wearing a top that was extremely unappropriate in so many ways walks out in the room and introduces herself to me.
"Heeyyyyy, I'm Warrior" She says. Immediately I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit tell me that this girl was special. That she stood out. Was marked. Loved. Wanted.
A few weeks later I receive a phone call from Warrior.
"Heeyy, I was wondering if I could come along to what my sister goes to..."
Sure! Definitly!
That night found Warrior, the girl, and the girls best friend in my car. On the way home from small/life/cell group the two ex-juvy kids began acting up. Swearing. Throwing things. Threatening to throw expensive items out of the window. So, ofcourse, I put my foot down and tell them that isn't on, and well, they didn't like that. Next thing I know, as I'm driving 60 k's down the road, the car door is open and the two girls jump out of my car! I quickly pull over, call out to the girls, and watch them laugh at me as they displayed items that they had stolen from my car, and then hurriedly they ran off.
Great.
Silently praying I pull out of the curb and continue driving Warrior home. And then, I hear sniffles. Crying? Sobbing? Looking in my mirror I see Warrior sitting in the back seat with tears streaming down her eyes.
"I don't want to be like my sister!" She screams. "You dont' have to be.." I tell her quietly. "I'm sick of her acting like this! And it's always ME who pays! The teachers at school think I'm going to be like her! I don't want to get locked up! I don't want to be a bad person! I don't want to put stress on my mum! I don't want to act like that! I don't want to be bad! I want to be good! I want to BE GOOD!" She vents. And then, quietly sobbing, she asks "How... How do I become a christian?" That was it. The Holy Spirit got her. She was captured by the Love of God. I can testify that Warrior has not been the same since that night. She has grown and changed and matured in such an incredible way. She is my inspiration. Against all odds she has stood and she has fought. Her love for God is amazing, her maturity and passion is one beyond her years. Since that night she has seen many of her friends meet Jesus too and also seen them transformed. Not only that, but she is an A+ student, running programs, leading others in her school. Modesty and purity is a passion of hers. Her words drip with the love of Jesus and encouragement. She is full of strength, dignity, grace. Warrior is amazing. And I am honoured that I could be her leader! Oh, and incase you are wondering, I still see her sister and her sisters best friend. They both have babies now and seem to want to let go of their wild ways. I love those girls just as much as anyone else. Labels: Used by God, Young People |
That is so awesome! You say SHE has a hold on her life... she's not the only one ;) hehe!
Love ya girl! :)