Osteoporosis and meeting Fergus in the milk aisle

Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with some of my favorite people.  I got to sit and chat and laugh from my toes with Isaiah, Keira, Caleb, Tai, Brody, Lanae and Seth.  They are a few of the teens that come to our small group on Sunday nights.  We usually spend the first hour at a fast food restaurant shooting the breeze and then the second hour doing a small group bible study.  I'm not quite sure who enjoys the time more, me (or Glen, depending on who is with them) or the teens.  No one is immune to the contagious laughter and fun.

I am consistently amazed by these young people.  I feel honored to be a part of their lives.  Two of them are seniors this year and will be graduating in just a month and a half.  We were talking about how Glen and I have been their only youth pastors and I was telling them that we feel so blessed to have been a part of all of their middle and high school years.  Keira asked me if I was going to cry on Graduation Sunday and I told her that I have already teared up thinking about how I would have to give them up to the glamourous life of College.  

Every year it never fails that as I sit in the graduation service, tears well up and I can't fight them back.  This year will be especially hard because this is our largest graduation class and like I said we have had six years with these kids.  I can honestly say that I truly love them.  

Isaiah is a young man that desires to know God more and please Him.  Keira has talent in writing, art and photography that would knock your socks off.  If we had the chance to grow up together - my guess would be that we would be great friends.  Then there's Ana Kate, it was a little hard to get to know her in the beginning, but she has a compassion that inspires me.  Brianna makes me laugh and Brent makes me laugh harder.  They are such a great group of young people.  

I know God has some incredible things for each of them to experience and I hope that in some small way, we have set the course for them to find out what those things are.  I also hope that I can continue to cheer them on as they continue their journeys.  I look forward in anticipation to see where God will take them ( I especially can't wait to meet Fergus ).