change...the only thing that stays the same

It is amazing that we still believe that there is actually a time filled with stability, predictability, and a "halting". "Once this is over, then..." How many times do we say that? We should stop fooling ourselves. I'm not sure I know anyone whose life is that static. We live dynamic lives, in a dynamic culture...always changing and adjusting. We find ourselves in the midst of that cycle again as we adjust to staff and budget change here at Oak Grove. It is sometimes discouraging to see momentum begin to ease as you turn another corner, slowing down to compensate for the change in direction. I have been doing this for 10 years, but am still slow to learn. I begin each ministry year expecting that there will be no change in variables, and that we have total control with how the year will go. It does not take long for that assumption to become challenged. We have journeyed through years of incredible grief within the youth ministry, never expecting to be working through the loss of 3 parents within a semester, as well as several other family crises that have drained us of our tears and prayers. We have experienced the disbelief, disappointment, and bewilderment of finding someone we had come to look up to as a leader to be acting out his hurt in ways that were extremely hurtful. We have gone through staff transitions, finding the right fit for important roles within the youth ministry and saying "hello" and "goodbye" so closely together, while attempting to wear multiple hats in ways which stretched and grew us. This year has had its share of "change the game" variables. Going so quickly from the hopes grounded in a focused middle school and focused high school staff format, to a place where we feel we've had to take a step backward. Needing to navigate the financial side of "ministry with teenagers" and trying to decide what a slimmer budget would allow us to accomplish. I don't know if the perspective I have at the beginning of each year is an ignorant one, or a hopeful one. I want to believe that the things which we are excited about seeing occur, will really come to pass. The problem is, that's not reality. A wiser man would know that the work which we are called to do is transitional, uncertain, and ripe for surprises. It is in the midst of grief, disappointment, and shifting logistics that God calls us to be present...and to be ready. Not waiting for the time when the waters will calm and "life as usual" will resume. THIS IS "life as usual" and it beckons us into the wildness of it. Not to tame it, or resolve it...but simply to ride it. I don't know what 2009 holds...but I want to be present to it...Awake to the Spirit and ready to hit curveballs.

m@