Young Life:)

Dang, aren't these girls cute?? These are some of my freshmen girls from Young Life at a valentines day party they very kindly invited me to. They are amazingly kind, funny, athletic, and have welcomed me in and made a home in my heart quicker than I could've ever imagined.

In September I was asked to start leading with Young Life, and I said yes even though I had never had anything to do with this ministry during my time in High School or College. Truthfully I was a bit judgmental towards it when I was younger - thanks God for humbling me. If you aren't familiar with Young Life, it's a youth ministry functioning to reach kids with the good news and provide a place for them to grow in their faith by connecting them with college and adult leaders. When the area director in Williamsburg asked me to join he told me it would be a party with a purpose, and that is absolutely true! We host some pretty chaotic hang outs on Monday nights, and some surprisingly deep and mature small group times on Sunday nights.

Over the past few months Young Life has continually proved to be such an unexpected blessing. I would have never pictured myself leading here, but pretty quickly after I started volunteering it became evident to me this was where I wanted to settle in for a while. As I was struggling to figure out what I was doing and where God wanted me I often felt so lost and disconnected from the kind of work I loved to do - but each time I went to a Young Life event or got to spend time with one of my girls I felt myself become re-ignited and so overcome with gratitude that God had brought me to this ministry. For a while I had been feeling rushed and anxious about wanting God to send me abroad again, wanting to find a "real job", wanting to put myself in something busy - but the more I spent time with my family and with my kids I started to want something different. I started to dream about life in Williamsburg, about consistently supporting my kids at their sports games, of being the house they drive to when they first get their license, of movie nights, ice cream dates, helping them get ready for school dances, and sharing my love for Jesus in every second of every day with them. God has continually deepened my heart for Williamsburg, and my heart for these High Schoolers.

Two months into leading I started to realize I wanted this to be my actual job and not just something I volunteered with, and in January our area director agreed to bring me onto the staff team, and I'm so excited!! God has been showing me how essential my relationship with Him was throughout my teenage years and what He’s still doing now in my early 20’s. For so many of us our teenage years are super fun and super hard all at once, and I think this time really sets us up for how we will think about the world, about ourselves, and about God. The more I do in youth ministry the more I realize how important it is to be a voice of love, joy, and peace during a time of life where so much is confusing, chaotic, and sometimes lonely. I'm really excited and honored to be able to give more of my time and energy to helping this non-profit run, to walking beside my kids in their faith, to training other leaders, and to receive more training and instruction myself.

Right now, I'm leaning into the preparation by trying to spend ample time in prayer and beginning my support raising for this job. I'm eager to fully step into this role, but trusting God in the process of preparation; I'm really expectant to see how He provides! If you want to read a little more about this or support me in this role, check out the "Join me" tab at the top!