Falling Rain
It wasn’t even cloudy when I left the house a little while ago. Now the rain is coming down in sheets and I
can barely see the road. Then my windshield wipers stopped working. Lucky for me the church is just up
the road a bit and I can pull over there on the church parking lot and wait out this storm. That is if my
headlights don’t give out as well.
I made it to the church and turned in to park. My headlights briefly pointed towards the front door of the
church as I was turning in. I know I couldn’t have seen what I thought I just saw. I backed up for another
look. Our little church has this roof over the door, too small to really call a porch since it was only about 4
foot square. But under it, in a mass huddle was 9 soaking wet teenagers, also known as our youth group.
I asked what they were doing there in the rain on a Tuesday night? They recognized my voice and ran to
my car for shelter. I don’t know how, but all 9 managed to get in my little car and close the door. Then
they told me what had happened.
The youth leader told them Sunday to meet at the church on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM for a youth meeting.
They were going to have popcorn and a movie. Their parents dropped them off just before 7:00 PM. It
started raining about 30 minutes later and still there was no youth leader or anyone else with a key to let
them in the church out of the rain. Surprisingly they reported this was not the first time this had occurred.
I had often thought of working with the youth, but since the job was already taken I hadn’t given it much
thought in a long time- until tonight. The Lord has a purpose for everyone and for everything that happens,
like my windshield wipers going out so close to the church- when 9 children were being drenched by the
freezing rain. I didn’t say anything but it was clear that a new youth leader was badly needed. I started to
remember some of the disappointments I had as a youth attending church.
Funny how quickly we forget things once we take a few steps outside the doors of the church. By the time
Monday morning comes around we can barely remember why we got so emotional just 24 hours ago on
Sunday morning. When your finally recognized as being an adult, the first thing you do is forget everything
that made you a youth. I guess that is why Christ told us to be as a small child. I think the youth has alot to
offer any church if the older members will just listen sometimes. If you spare the rod- you spoil the child.
You have to remember that in Gods eyes we are all children. Some of us have been spoiled for alot of years.
