Confession Time

Ok, I have a confession to make...I am scared of teenagers! Well, I have been hesitant to be involved with the Youth at church because, well, I didn't do being a teenager real well. Don't get me wrong, I was a great student, graduated in the top 10 % of my class, was on Homecoming Court, the dance line, all of that stuff. I looked pretty good on the outside. On the inside I was a mess. What I saw at church, when I went, was either kids I knew from school that were total hypocrites, or an expectation of perfection that I knew I could never meet. I do not recall anyone ever telling me I didn't have to be perfect because Jesus was perfect for me. Inside I was a mess of contradictions. Anyway, what I know to be true is that (1) God can use anyone, even me, (2) That our God is in the business of redemption, He can redeem any experience we have had and use it to His glory, (3) Fear is not from God it is from our adversary. That being said, I have given in to my wonderful friend Linda who has a wonderful heart for young people, and has been urging me to get involved with them at our church for the last year. For those of you who have heard me preach to you or someone else about getting uncomfortable because that is when we grow the most, I can say I am sufficiently uncomfortable! I am also expecting great things out of all of this discomfort! Thank God that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!