A Whole New World

A few weeks ago I had my first official sermon in front of 50+ people at Willowbrook Church. I spoke about the world of teenagers on how they view us, themselves, and the world around them. I talked about how adults have such an impact on kids, and how they remember you for who you are and what you do.

Today, I was reminded about what I got myself into.

I recently got hired to work at the Teen Center in the Sherwood YMCA. My job description is to basically be a positive impact in kids lives while hanging out and playing games. Part of my job also has me visiting the local middle school in Sherwood. Here are some thoughts that either ran through my head or mouth when I saw these munchkins:

"Holy crap, they're tiny."

"Man, he's HUGE!"

"Why do are they so sassy?"

"They think they own everything."

"Why are they so jumpy?"

"Why are they so mean sometimes."

"What's wrong with mingling with kids in other grades?"

"How are they seeing me?"

"Why is my new name 'FredWin'?"

...

After about two hours of passing out flyers to promote the Teen Center's activities, I found myself drained from the immense pile of information storming my brain. I couldn't believe how they mostly responded positively to me without trying to spit at me. They remembered my name (I had trouble remembering theirs, but oh well). The small talk topics stuck with them as I left and they yell back at me with toothy grins. 

As Don Miller would most likely say, "how's my story impacting theirs?"