when i start a new job, i like to be thrown right into the mix. i hate the whole awkward slowly wading in and trying to figure things out before actually doing the work. in my mind, that’s just wasting time that could be spent doing, you know, the actual job.

luckily for me, the people i work for have the same approach.

of the three days i’ve worked since i’ve been here, all have been at least twelve hours and two of them included events. it’s been a lot of go, go, go and has been a ton of fun. we had our weekly event last night and i’ve already written about the event we had last friday night. on top of all of that, we leave saturday morning to take 71 people to jacksonville for a missions trip (side note: something like 58 of those are high school students paying $349 a piece to go. that’s absolutely nuts that our kids are that committed.) i think it’s pretty safe to say that things have been crazy.

it’s been fast paced.

it’s been hectic.

it’s been busy.

and tonight, it was all made worth it.

we did things a little different than our normal wednesday night program. we split up and did guys night and girls night. the girls stayed in our normal building and the guys went over to another place on campus for our deal.

it was forty-something high school dudes and a few leaders in a trailer. we played some games that went along with what we were going to talk about and then sat down to talk about a pretty intense issue. we were going to talk about lust and all of the things that go with it.

impure thoughts.

masturbation.

pornography.

reading those words alone makes most people just feel a little dirty or tense up. they’re definitely not comfortable. i was somewhat surprised at how quickly this group of guys went from joking around and having a good time to being serious and actively listening to a tough subject. i looked around the room and could see the looks on their faces that they were battling things inside of them. i could tell that what was being taught was striking something within them and that they weren’t comfortable.

i could see that god was working.

at the end of the talk we had all of the guys split up and get by themselves. we gave them a pen and a piece of paper and told them that if there was anything they needed to confess to god or another person they could write it on that sheet of paper. we then gave them two options: throw it in a fire to symbolize them giving it to god or hand it to a friend so that they could help keep them accountable.

most of the guys took their time thinking and writing out the things that were on their mind and then walked outside and threw their confession in the fire. the fact that they took the time to actually write the things out and think through them is a pretty big deal in my book.

throughout this whole period i was praying and had my head down at times. however, there was one time when i looked up and there were only about three or four guys in the room. they were all taking their time and writing things out. two of them left and threw theirs in the fire. then, in a move that just made me feel all tingly inside, the last two guys stood up, handed the other their paper, hugged each other, and walked out of the room.

they got it.

they realized that they couldn’t do it on their own.

they realized they needed the other for help.

and maybe most important, they realized they weren’t alone in their struggles.

there are so many times in life that we think we’re the only person dealing with something. we fight it and fight it and fight it and think that we have to beat it because if others found out they’d look down on us or judge us or think less of us. in reality though, those “others” are likely dealing with either the exact same thing or something like it.

god didn’t design us to go through life on our own or to try to figure everything out by ourselves. he doesn’t want us to go to war with an issue or a struggle with no backup. it’s written over and over again in the bible about the importance of accountability and community with others so that they can help us and we can help them.

the problem is we’re too good to ask others for help.

the problem is we’re too ashamed to admit we’re not perfect.

the problem is we’re too prideful to consider that someone would understand.

those two students got it. they got what it takes many of us years to learn and even longer to put into action. if they can figure it out, if they can lay down their pride, and if they can be truly honest, why can’t we?

this world would be much better and we’d have a heck of a lot less problems if we did.

we just need to get it.

say your prayers and take your vitamins.

have a nice day.

-jonathan