Creek Kids

 June 11, 2023

During the covid lockdowns a couple summers ago, the neighborhood kids who had usually frequented the village park to play basketball and hang out drifted to our yard and the swimming hole that has attracted kids and families for generations. They could be somewhat unruly at times, but with only a few exceptions, were respectful. On our part, we tried to make them feel welcome while setting some behavioral boundaries.

Last summer, there was an incident that irretrievably shattered the group. They weren’t around much after that, and the kids that are starting to frequent the swimming hole are new to us. We haven’t forgotten the older ones, especially since one of them came skidding across our driveway a couple weeks ago when the throttle stuck on his motorcycle. I picked up the pieces of the bike that hadn’t survived the encounter with our lawn, and helped load it into the back of his friend’s pickup truck. Memories began to flood into my head and heart. 

When Linda and I were newly married and pastoring the little EUB church in Alma, NY, upon our inquiry about starting a youth group, a few of the congregants told us there were no young people in the area. We trekked up and down the valley, up Alma Hill Road, and before long had about twenty-five rag-tag teenagers hanging out at the little parsonage. Living about 12-15 miles from Wellsville where the school was located, most of these kids weren’t connected to the organized sports and activities of the school, and so had little to do with their time other than what we organized. Softball games, hikes, pizza parties, and lots of Linda’s homemade cookies kept them coming week after week. Now years later, are still in touch with some whose lives were changed by the Gospel we loved into them.

I can’t help thinking about them—Eddie, Karen, David, Roy, Brenda, John, David, Charlie, Dennis, Pam, Cindy…the list could go on. It’s hard for us to imagine, but they are grandparents now. When I think of these kids who impacted our lives so deeply at the beginning of our ministry, I wonder if God isn’t giving us the opportunity to impact the lives of these “Creek kids” at the tail end of our years. We aren’t young, aren’t cool, but I’m not convinced that’s necessary. Kids without good leadership will easily succumb to bad leadership, and I don’t want that to happen any more than has already happened. So tonight, instead of a meditation on Scripture or a word of gratitude, would you join me in praying for these kids? They need Jesus, and perhaps the only way they’ll find their way to him is through us. Maybe not, but God has laid them on our hearts, and we don’t want to miss stepping through the door he seems to be opening.