Seek to Understand...

This past week at Youth Group I did a special project. The previous four weeks we had listened to testimonies from several adults--we heard their stories. So last Wednesday I wanted to give the students an opportunity to tell their story. I gave them paper and pens and clipboards. I got about 30 responses from about 55 people, so it could have been better, but still I got to hear many of the stories.
It's amazing the kind of insight you can have about people when you simply ask...and mean it. Kids go through a lot these days, and often we don't know exactly where they are coming from. We get frustrated because they don't act like us, or they don't know all the rules. But our stories aren't their stories. The cool thing is that in everyone's story there is a place for Jesus. There is a need, some people have realized it and it has changed their life in an incredible way. Some have yet to realize it, and it is sad. These are some of the same kids who write about fellow teenagers, "they just want to fit in, or they are concerned about only today, or it hurts when people betray you." The answer to all of this is Jesus. He gives us meaning for today, but beyond today. He is there when we hurt, and when life is good to us.
Recently I've been thinking alot about the prayer from Francis of Assisi, "May I seek to understand, not to be understood." That is so profound, because we can't really tell people about Jesus very well without understanding them, and what they are going through. My hope is that by understanding just a little bit about this group of students I'll be able to be there for them and help them to see Jesus through all the confusion of the teenage years.
Two things: There are walls in peoples lives--walls of abuse, or broken homes, or bad teaching, or fitting in with contemporary culture. There is also incredible immaturity. My prayer and hope is that both issues would dissolve. That God would break down walls, and that he would also whisper softly into the ears of those who would listen and draw them closer to him along this lifelong journey of discipleship.
So after a long entry of several scattered tangents, my biggest hope is that God would continue to help me understand: to understand people's stories, to understand how incredible his love still is, even after I've heard, "God loves you" a million times. I want to understand so I can communicate clearly and boldly as I should.