for everyone

It was a bizarre scenario for me at church this weekend. I often sit with students in our high school and middle school ministry, but this scene was exceptional.

"The Hoodlums"
Behind me - two kids who I recognize by face, but not their names. I personally haven't seen them in a couple of years, but they've clearly been coming to church in that time. They're the type of kids my mom would have told me to stay away from in high school because they "look like trouble." Dressed like punks in skinny jeans and red Vans, they hunch down in the furthest back in the auditorium they could be. And through the whole service, I can hear them laughing. At all the right places. In a way that only someone who's invested in the pastor and knows about his quirks can be. They're not shouting, "amen" or anything like that, but they're listening. And then getting up and taking care of their younger sisters. Without the presence of parents to guide them.

"The Innocent"
To my left is one of our students with special needs. I've heard about basketball practice and games so far this morning, but once the music starts, he's all in on the service. Singing his heart out in a way with a sincerity that I wish I could muster up. He's nodding and murmuring along with the pastor because he agrees and doesn't care who around him knows.

"The Young" 
To my right are two 6th grade girls. They sit - surprisingly - quietly during this message about Jesus as our King and Leader. They get to hear that Jesus went before us - leading us - and that if we watch Him, we'll see Who He is and how He is God... and deserves to be our God. I'm not sure what they took away from the morning. If nothing else, I hope that someday when they're 21 and lost, they remember that Sunday when they heard there was Someone who loved them enough to die for them and that they can follow Him to a better and more abundant life.

And then there's me. Amazed that God has brought all of these people within yards of each other. Wrestling with my own insecurities and fears.

God isn't just for the "cleaned up" or just when "everything is fine." He's for everyone. All the time.