Tonight I received one of those e-mails that you just file away somewhere. It came a bit unexpected and it came at a good time. Not that I am particularly discouraged or anything like that… But it is always nice to get messages like this. Here is what a current student wrote to me:
So I want to tell you how much I appreciate you. I want to thank you for everything. For picking me up for stuff, letting me hang out at your house, being there when I need to talk, and everything else. Your always here when I need to talk, even if I am being a compleate idiot about something (which happens a lot), you help me realize that I am being an idiot, without being mean. I’ve changed a lot of the past few years, and I think that you have really helped me, you helped me though a lot of stuff, and done a lot of stuff for me. I don’t understand why you don’t just tell me “GO AWAY!” I mean, I’m sure you probably think it, but I don’t understand why you don’t say it. You’ve done way more for me then I deserve. I really want to thank you for everything. But I want to ask you a question, why? why do you do it? i mean, i know some of it comes with the job, but you do way more then you get paid for, so why do you do it?
I think it is a fair question worth contemplating… Why do I do this? Why do youth ministry folks do what we do? What is it that keeps us doing the things this student is talking about? Are we mad or do we get it?
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