SYATP

Today is See You At The Pole (SYATP). This event serves as a time of prayer, meditation, and bible study that takes place every year at schools across the country. SYATP is just one of the MANY memories that I have from my junior high and high school years. I have recently gotten involved in teaching youth Sunday School, and this has brought back a flood of memories from when I was in the youth group. It has also made me realize that I will not birth any children, but rather adopt a few that are beyond the age of 18! But I digress..What a wonderful time of my life, being in the youth group. I established a solid foundation for my faith to grow on, I made friends that will last a lifetime, and I met my spouse. Although it seems like I just graduated from high school, it has really been almost 5 years! WOW how time flies when you are an adult.
I am about to sound alot like my grandmother, Ruth, but I am amazed at how things have changed since I was a youth. The most pressing thing that I had to worry about when I was in the youth group was where we were going for Student Life? Would our fearless youth leader order Little Caesar's or would we have Wooten's very own cafeteria-style pizza? Would Michael speak to me? Did he like me? Did he like what I was wearing? Did he like someone else? I know, I know, I spent a lot of time focusing on Michael during my youth, but hey, it worked out for me!
I have recently realized that our youth today are bombarded with many issues that are far more pressing than those mentioned above. I teach 7th and 8th grade girls, and I struggle to hide my facial expressions at times. When I hear them discussing their family situation, specific drugs that they hear about at school, specific types of alcohol, friends being pregnant, dating guys 5+ years older than they are, pressure from parents that they MUST be in the "gifted" classes (I won't get on that soapbox today) I wonder how in the world they make it to graduation. I wish so badly that I could get them to see that all of these worldly things mean nothing, but I don't see that happening. So, I will continue to thank God that I grew up in a church, and was blessed to be involved and greatly influenced by my youth group, as well as try to divert my girl's attention from the things mentioned above, and to direct it towards God and all of His goodness as well as the simpler things in life, like pizza!

P.S. My hat goes off to Neil...and yours should too!