Memorial Box Monday: Making sense of the journey

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trusting God. Following Him. It can lead to places you never would conceive on your own. A couple years ago He asked me to move to children's ministry -- something I never would have considered. Yet I knew it was right. So I went. That led to a variety of roles throughout the next generation ministry at our church.

Our older boys are in youth group. I hung out at church on Sunday nights during youth services and finally stepped in to serve. I think I chose it for me as much as for the kids. I have been blessed to get to know a lot of awesome teens! They are fun, energetic, moody, silly, sweet, and sometimes devilish! I adore these kids and pray for a lot more than my own three now. Our home is often filled with noisy teens flopped on the couch, munching on whatever they can find in the pantry.

God also gave me the incredible opportunity to tutor fifth and sixth grade home-schooled boys. Most of the other moms thought I was either crazy or incredibly special. I'm neither. It's just what God wanted me to do, so He equipped me to do it. Working with those boys was one of the most fun things I've ever done. One foot in childhood and one in adulthood. Trying so hard to figure out how to move ahead. Hilarious!

I had to step away from that role, though, which I did (I no longer had a child in the program). I didn't want to and would have loved if the rules could have been bent so I could stay. I really didn't want to leave these guys!

So -- if I haven't bored you tears with my little trip down memory lane -- last week, I reflected on this journey and realized that even though I had no idea where it was leading, God had a plan for me. I'm now blessed to serve on a new ministry at our church, just for fifth and sixth graders! The team is filled largely with enthusiastic high schoolers who serve in every capacity on the team. These are the same high schoolers God allowed me to open my home to and pray with these past two years. They have become strong Christian leaders and are pouring into the future.

My tutoring experience helped me really understand this age group. I didn't know when I was first tutoring how to relate to a group of rowdy, awkward tweens. Now, though, as we develop curriculum and plan services, I understand who it's for. God has allowed me to discover what they like and how they think. I'm able to make decisions quickly because of what I've been through.

I never set out in life to lead a fifth and sixth grade ministry. I never would have considered myself called to it... Yet, I know I am. I know God orchestrated my steps through years of service to prepare me for now. Trusting Him, I've taken a path I never would have chosen. I would have it no other way!

I took a photo of the kids yesterday at our launch service that I'll put in my Memorial Box. May their joy and love for God continue to grow. I pray they'll understand that God has a plan for them too!

If you don't know what Memorial Box Monday is, it all started at Linny's blog: "A Place Called Simplicity." A friend of mine introduced me to it, and I love it! love it! love it!!! Memorial Box Monday provides an opportunity to remember all the good things God has done. Huge, gigantic things and little things that might seem insignificant. God's word is clear: "Cast every care on Me, for I care for you." (1 Peter 5:7). Please pray for Linny. She's facing a huge health battle. Head-on she fights, knowing HER GOD is big enough to see her family through. Thanks!