I'm not sure whether to say the old year ended slowly or furiously. The day started out slowly enough, but I had a wedding (my last official pastoral duty) to officiate at 5:00, followed by dinner with Linda's sisters, which took us to 12:30, at which time we headed to the Lakewood Y for Park church's annual AD (Alcohol and Drug) Free Party. They focused more on cementing relationships with kids than a broadcast approach to whoever might come, so there weren't as many kids attending, but hopefully, the ones who came were responsive to the Message.
Linda and I arrived just in time to hear the Park youth band play, and then hear Katie Meadows speak. I was absolutely amazed. These kids didn't just sing; they led worship, prayed for the kids present, and challenged me to live more for Jesus. Katie spoke about losing her father last year to cancer, and the struggle she's had with fear and forgiveness. I can't speak for the kids, but I know more than a few of the adults present were in tears as she spoke articulately, with conviction and power. What an amazing young woman, who took her own still raw emotions and laid them out before her peers, then telling them that through it all, Jesus is enough.
I cannot think of a better way to begin 2015 than with these kids, and am so grateful I stopped by. They got this old boy off on the right foot for the new year. Times Square has nothing that even holds a candle to the way we began this New Year of 2015!
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