True Love Waits
This week we had the opportunity to work with graduating seniors, from
multiple schools at an all day conference.
At the conference the gospel was presented, degree options were
explored, and we talked about “True Love Waits.” The day was filled with worship, games,
laughter, dancing, and serious conversations.
Being on the Race I tend to forget that everybody does not necessary
live life like I do. All those things
that filled the day are perfectly normal for me, it is the culture that I live
in.
We each were assigned to a group of teenagers and we were expected to lead
them in discussion about the topics of the conference. We met multiple times within the day and my
group studied the arts for high school.
My first thought was, “I think Shawndell should be with this group,
not me.” Knowing that God does not
do anything by mistake but everything on purpose I settled into leading my
group.
All day it was heavy on my heart to tell my group how important it is to
follow God with all of their heart, soul, and mind. The first time we met I skipped all the
questions and asked who was a Christian.
After everyone in my group answered that they were, I again asked who
was a true Christian. I shared that one
of the biggest lessons that I have learned these past few months is that there
is a difference between someone who calls themselves Christian and someone who
is a Christian. (But that is for another
blog.)
We met a few more times but did not touch on such serious topics. That is until the last time we met and my
group was silent. Up to this point they
were loud, laughing, and very talkative.
So we played a quick game to break the ice and to pass the time because
we had forty-five minutes to fill due to their silence. And then they spoke.
These are the questions that the seniors, age fifteen or sixteen, asked
me. “Give us some wisdom on
life.” “Teach us about what
you know about ‘True Love Waits’ that we haven’t heard.” “What is
the most important thing in life.”
And “In three words give us a life lesson.” We went from silence to some of life’s hardest
questions.
From all of my training of being a World Racer….joking, the training that
we got on this came from Africa. Its the
training in that when you go anywhere you should always expect to say
something, to say anything.
Obviously, I do not have all the answers that these teenagers wanted and I
was not going to act like I did. I did
however know what the Lord had put on my heart for that day, “Love the
Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul.” I just kept repeating in different ways that
nothing else matters or even compares to loving God first and always put Him
first. That the greatest part of all is
that God loves us that much, that as we put Him first He takes care of everything
else. We could try to make successful
lives for ourselves, like so many of us do, but it won’t compare to His plans
and His love for us.
We ended that day with a worship session full of dancing, cheering, and
freedom. Normal right? Well come to find out the whole day was
completely abnormal. Even though
Christianity is “legal” to talk about in schools it really is not
acceptable. The “True Love Waits”
talk is never talked about in the schools, ever. This conference has never really been
accepted nor received the way that it had that day. Before leaving that day the Head Principle
set up next years conference. Before
dinner that night schools were contacting the organization to set up a
conference next week. The teenagers that attended this conference are the most likely to be put into political office or
high authority position in the government office. So to literally have future leaders confess
freely and seriously their commitment to God, it was kind of a big deal.
God works all things out for His Glory and Glory is what He received that
day. As we stepped into that conference
with our “normal culture” it stirred up something in those teenagers
that they will always remember. I am not
trying to take praise for God’s work but I am saying that when you create and
live in a culture, you invite others to do the same.
My life lesson in three words:
“Love God
Always”
nothing else
matters.
