What a difference a day makes - - -

I read through the first post I wrote on Tuesday before I got ready to write this one...three days later, and it is amazing all that has happened in the last few days. Oh, and I finally went to the doctor - two weeks and two prescriptions later - and a diagnosis of pink eye and a sinus infection. Whee.

Wednesday night was so great. There were meetings going on left and right and the bustle that is characteristic of Wednesday nights is starting to return. It's so nice to hear voices around the church besides those of the staff - I love it when the halls are full of folks milling around. Wednesday night marked the kickoff of the confirmation season - with confirmation orientation. We had a full house down in the Fellowship Hall, and it was fun to see some of the faces that I haven't seen much since last spring, as much because I have been gone so often as anything. Steve and I got through the nuts and bolts of the handbook and then I went to my post in the back by all of the sign-up sheets, and a barrage of questions greeted me, parents and kids asking left and right about all of the things that were going on. I was thrilled to watch a couple of the sheets fill to almost half full, and hear the chatter of kids telling friends to come with them to different events.

After that meeting was my second of the night...an information meeting about the ELCA National Gathering that is coming up in July 2009. Much to my surprise, there were a number of kids that stuck around, many of whom were 9th graders...and I was thrilled. The kids that were there seemed very excited about it, as did the parents that were with them. We went through all the details, and now it is just a matter of seeing how many responses I get back.

The icing on the cake occurred after the meeting as I was wrapping things up and chatting with one of the girls who really wanted to go, and her dad had told her that he would give her part of the money for the trip, but that if they went as a family to the Bahamas later that year, she wouldn't be able to come, that the Gathering would be her trip instead. She shrugged it off, saying, that's ok. I stopped and turned to her and her father and said, "You have no idea what it's like as a youth director to hear a kid say that..." to which her dad responded, yeah, she's been there before though, and I said that it didn't matter, that is still a big concession to make. I love it when kids get it...

Oh, and we are now full up for confirmation small group leaders...awesome. And we have an attendance caller too...

So, I went upstairs and hung out in the back of the end of choir practice and sat in on their prayers, and went home that night feeling like a million bucks. The last couple days have been spent taking care of the aftermath, filing away papers, getting things sorted and organized for the coming weeks, and trying to keep everything sorted out in my head. The fall is a busy one...but I can't wait. Little surprises are everywhere, and after a wonderful conversation this afternoon that put a few things into perspective, I feel like I'm really ready for it. After all, it is challenges that make us stronger, obstacles that evoke our creativity, and successes that we hold on to that help us get through the more difficult times.

On Christ alone, my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song...