It takes time for some of these lessons to sink in. But, I could hear it in their stories now, after almost 20 years, leaving home, getting married, getting a job, and beginning to raise their own families. Life has a strange way of testifying to the truth of Scripture. Our job is to give the message. God s job is to massage it into the muscle and flesh of real life.
Love is the lesson that lasts.
At the end of our weekend, I had to smile when I thought of how few of our reminiscences and war stories cited a particular lesson I had taught or quoted a talk I had given. In fact, references to my talks and Sunday school lessons were pretty much entirely absent. What folks remembered were the relationships. One former student, when asked about what part of the youth ministry had meant the most to her, began to tear up when she started talking about one of the women leaders with whom she met every week in a small group. She recalled being in this woman s home, and watching her raise her little girls, and being absolutely blown away that this woman would find time for her, a wild, giggly, ninth grade girl and her friends.