A letter to My Seniors

I am so blessed to serve in Student Ministries. There is no where I would rather "be." I have the privelage of leading a Small Group of Senior Girls. Oh my goodness, they are incredible! They blow my mind. They bless my socks off. I love investing in these girls & doing life with them. I honestly take time with them whenever I get the chance...I genuinely LOVE being with them & love them period. Then the other half...the Senior Guys...wow. This is a group of amazing young men led by a great mentor & leader. This group of seniors we have is uniquely special to me. I am grateful for them beyond words. They are each a gift from God. God has amazing things stored up for their future's...they are each so talented. So I was writing them a letter & thought I would share. Honestly...if you are a part of Emmanuel...if you have not met these awesome young leaders, you need to.

A letter to my seniors…

There is no telling what God will do in & through your life. My advice: be praying & expecting God to do something. He has done so much in my life & I wasn’t even waiting in expectation the impact to be huge. But once He made my steps firm, He just blew my mind…because He affected people just because of a willing spirit.
Risk will be involved. Don’t think for a second that living for Christ is the easy way to go. You can stay in your comfort zone & not step out in faith. You will need to try new things & risk embarrassment & failure…which none of us are a huge fan of. God is giving you the opportunity to use your gifts in ways you haven’t thought of & the results will be amazing & humbling. Because it’s not about you or from you. So check out Romans 12:1-2 from The Message…
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Take these words & bury them in your heart, senior. You CAN & ARE making a difference. God says in His Word that He is looking & searching the earth for one whose heart is turned towards Him. He is looking for someone who is willing to step outside of themselves & surrender to God’s will. Will you stand up, senior? Will you put your hand up & say, “Here I am, send me”?
It could be a variety of things…starting a Bible study, book club, running for student government, being a part of a team, or just befriending someone in your class. God can & will use what you give Him. Just give Him your fish & loaves of bread (which is not much by our standard)—and watch Him multiply it.
I am so humbled by how God uses me. His favor is over it all…I am astounded how & why He would use me. Don’t underestimate what God can do with whatever you have to offer. You may feel like you have nothing to offer, but that’s not true. Pray. Ask God to help you & give you opportunities to share His love…to be His hands & feet.
My prayer for you, senior, is that when graduation comes around, you can look around & know you’ve left a positive imprint on your school & those around you…that you will have no regrets…that you will know you gave God your all & left it all on the table.

Are you all in?