Sometimes I don't have much to say. Other days I write and talk prolifically (aka word vomit). Last week was one of those instances in which I had very little to say and almost nothing to share. It was one of those weeks when I just wanted to take a break from everyone and everything. It wasn't that things were necessarily bad or that life was crazy busy. I just didn't feel like talking and sharing.
That feeling persisted up until yesterday evening.
It was Wednesday which means that youth group was coming up. To be honest, I was less than excited. I had read what I was teaching on but I hadn't prepared. All day at work I had it in the back of my mind. I got home and try to hammer out some stuff. I found some cool commentary information and had a fun idea and so on and so on. Everything came together well. Not that it was overwhelmingly awesome. It was alright. Not that good of a lesson. Nothing special. Just another thing. It was getting closer to time for youth and I was taking the lengthy drive to the church. Not thinking about much. Just doing what needed to be done.
When I got to the church I walked in, saw some teens run around and said hello to some people. I popped my head into the youth room, stood next to the adults for a minute, realized how awkward I was and went to get coffee. I got some coffee and came back to the youth room...this is where things turned. I was walking towards the adults and said to myself, "I'm closer to most of the teens age than their ages...I'm gonna go hang out with some teens because I have nothing to talk about with these adults." So I did.
I walked into the gym and saw some crazy teenagers running around with a basketball with all but the safety lights turned off. One kid was just running around looking for a basketball because he wanted to play. I sipped on my coffee and talked to some of them as they ran around, stopping long enough to respond to whatever I was asking them. I slouched against a wall and just sat there chatting with a handful of them, again while they ran around (playing dodgeball I guess except everyone was running wherever they wanted to...maybe they were just running around just because). I was enjoying it a lot! It was great to just chill and chat with the students. Then the guys started taking three point shots and half-court shots and we were all laughing and cutting up with one another. Funny side note: one student decided to try and dunk the basketball and ran up and it looked like he might get close and then another student raised the rim by just a couple inches at the last second and the whole thing turned into a fail but we all laughed about it (including the student going for the dunk, so please don't think that he was being picked on because he was cool with it, too).
Eventually, one of the adults called for everyone to come on because it was time for groups. It was time to teach on the passage that I wasn't so sure about. We all went upstairs and the students came in to the class...all three of them...there were usually 7-9 students so we were at less than half of our typical crowd! My teaching lesson was not prepared for such a drastic change so it was time to do what I always do when things are not entirely going my way: I threw it out and decided to wing it. Holy Spirit speak, I prayed. What happened next completely caught me off guard!
We wrote our names on the board for a mini game we play every week now and I wrote mine in Greek for some reason. It was perfect, though. For the next fifteen minutes we talked about Greek and I showed them the alphabet, the sounds they make, some fun words, and other random stuff. In case y'all didn't know, I love Greek. I geek out about Greek. After that I got to take a passage of scripture that probably had little to no meaning to these three students in middle school and make it something easy to understand and applicable. Whatever that means to different people...but more importantly I had the blessed opportunity to, in whatever teeny-tiny way, educate and disciple others in the ways of Christ. I literally came alive while at youth that night. I got to spend time with teens, build relationships, teach some Greek, and then I got to teach a difficult passage in a way to make it understandable for middle school teenagers! It was truly great!
Now, this is not just a journal entry in my public diary...I ain't about that...I promise that this has all been leading somewhere. I know that 99.9% of anyone ever has, at some point in their life, succumbed to the day-to-day routine and pulled away from everything that makes us truly feel and live. Maybe that isn't a bad place to be in life from time to time, minus the pulling away from things. However, I think that there is a lot to be said about the process of going through those moments. They teach us something. I have not had any luck of finding my vocational ministry niche, yet. But what I learned yesterday was that I come alive when I am working with people, especially teens, and doing what is necessary in order to educate and disciple people into better understanding and relationship with Christ. I think that is the key to getting out of these slumpy mires of life. I truly believe that each Christian is called, in some degree or another, to be in ministry somewhere and somehow. It is not that I am saying that everyone is called to be a pastor of some sort. Some people really shouldn't be, honestly. Sorry, that is just how it is sometimes. What I am saying is that Jesus tells us in Matthew to make and mature disciples and that means that all of us are called to do just that. For some that is translating scripture to peoples around the world that do not have scripture in their language yet. For others it might be making lasagna and writing a kind letter for their neighbor across the hall whose mother recently died. For some others it might be running for some political position in order to do good work at a governmental level. All I am saying is that there is a passion somewhere inside of you and God wants you to do exactly that for Him and His people. So go do it. That is the best way to get out of the mires of life: lean into Jesus and do good for Him. (side note: sometimes we have to do things we aren't passionate about in order to do good for God as well). I hope this makes sense and I didn't ramble on too much with my story earlier. Thank you to all who read. I deeply appreciate and respect you!!!
Seeking Truth,
Dylan Miller
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