Pray 21

A few weeks ago, I was invited to teach one of the adult Sunday School classes at my church. They were doing a series on Abraham, and I was supposed to teach about God's call on Abraham's life. So I hunkered down with the teacher's guide and my Bible and came up with this lovely little lesson about what we could learn and apply to our lives.

In my speech, I said the following words: When God calls, our job is to go. Even if it seems crazy. Even if it seems inconvenient. Even if our marching orders are incomplete. Just GO.

And later that day, I "icked" my own words.

Our church started a program called Pray 21. It's set up kind of like a mentoring program. They asked teens in the church if they wanted to participate, and those who did were matched up with an adult. I'd thought about volunteering but truly felt I didn't have time to do it well. I didn't want to be unfair to my teen by not having the time to invest that I should, and with my job taking so much time - and being so far away - I felt it was best to sit this one out.

But the very day I taught that Abraham lesson, one of the ladies in the church approached me and said, "We need one more female adult in Pray 21. Would you consider helping us?"

Ugh.

I took the day to pray about it and when the youth pastor called me that night to get my answer, I said the spiritually correct thing. "I really don't have the time to put into it that I probably should, so if someone else is willing and would do a better job, I won't be offended if you choose her instead. But if you really need me, I'll do it."

Adam responded, "You'll get such a blessing out of this."

No I won't.

You don't understand my paralyzing fear of teenagers. I didn't like them when I was one. And they certainly didn't like me any better. I thought back to high school and began to develop hives just thinking about what this girl might say to me. I knew who she was but I didn't really know her. She'd probably freak out when she found out I was her partner. I nearly needed oxygen when I made the first phone call.

One awkward, painful call turned into two...and three...and four...and I found she was actually fun.

One night she told stories that made me laugh until I cried. (What??)

One night she stopped our conversation to inform me we had been on the phone for over an hour. And we hadn't even started on actual Pray 21 questions yet. (What??????)

One night when the book question asked about the best part of the project so far, she told me her answer was that she was paired up with me. ( WHAT!?!???!?!??!)

And one night as I sucked it up and told her I'd been scared to be her partner because I'd been fat and ugly in high school and therefore not all that warmly welcomed by people her age, she piped up, "Whatever! You're pretty and cool!"

Call it dumb (because it probably is!) but that one sentence from a fifteen year old healed a wound that had been open for about 18 years.

It seemed crazy. It seemed inconvenient. My marching orders were incomplete. But I went. And I'm glad I did.

And Adam was right. (But don't tell him I said so.) It's a blessing.