When we moved into our house more than 17 years ago, I thought we would live here for 5-10 years. Did I mention that I have never played the future guessing game well? Not only did we stay, but we have put down roots in this community. There have been seasons that we felt that perhaps a move was on the horizon, but up to this point we have been planted in the same place.
This has provided many challenges and blessings. I have traveled a bit of a winding road since 1999. The temptation to change locations to avoid the pain of growing still (to me, this is also known as growing up), has been great. When I am uncomfortable, I want to change positions. When I feel uneasy, I like to leave the situation. And when I have wanted to reinvent myself, the temptation to leave my known has been pressing.
But there are days like today that I am so glad that I have remained. We did not know a soul in this town when we moved here. We were 23 and 24 years old and we had no idea what the next season of life would be like. Upon moving in, we found our place at a local church. I was on staff as the student pastor and we were immediately surrounded by teenagers and their families. I loved every minute of that season.
This house has hosted sleepovers, hide and go seek marathons, volleyball in the field, Bible studies and movie nights. It has been toilet papered too many times to count. It has been host to retreats and game nights and all of this happened before 2006. In the 6 years of full time ministry, we had countless teenagers in our home. They were our kids before we had kids. We genuinely walked with and cared for and loved them.
We now have a youth group of our own in this house. We still host lock-ins and mission trips, but now we are the dorky parents rather than the cool young adults. We still rent vans and take kids to camp, but now we have the grey hair to prove that we are old enough to be covered by church insurance.
Staying in the same house with the same phone number has provided me with surprise Sunday afternoon knocks, from now grown ups, that just want to see if we are still here. It has blessed me with deep adult friendships. It has given my kids a wealth of adults that love them. It reminds me daily that if I can stay still and grow up, my relationships will deepen with time and hardships and celebrations and life experiences.
Today we had lunch with one of these teenagers. As we talked, I was reminded that we are now the age of the parents that I met when I first came to League City. Our kids are the ages of the teenagers and they are now the ones with houses and young kids and careers. My kids now babysit for their kids. I get to call them for help with all things grown-up. What a great ride!
Just 17 years ago, these kids were the reason that I dressed in obnoxious costumes, stayed up all night and lost sleep about their worries and futures. Today, they are my neighbors, colleagues, advisors, cheerleaders and family. It seems like a lifetime ago, and it was. So much has changed and yet in that change so many wonderful journeys have remained connected because I did not run for the hills when I was uncomfortable in my own skin.
And the best gift of all? Because I didn't run, they know where to run when their faith and life and marriages and kids and struggles are hard. Sure, we share the good, but I have sat in some of life's hardest struggles with them because ministry doesn't end when you age out of the youth program. Relationships are the heart of ministry, and they extend all the way to hospital room and the wedding reception and the rooms of recovery. They bring you face to face in the grocery store and the therapist office. Relationships like these share coffee on a sunny afternoon and tears at a graveside. I thank God everyday that student ministry was only the introduction.
Amen! Amen!
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