I had been considering my generation a little bit ago. This generation can be discouraging at times. It is hard to get younger people in. Some give the excuse of anxiety. Some give the excuse of not being people persons. Whatever the excuse, it can be hard to get them to come to activities or simply be "all in". I've been a preacher's daughter and served in the ministry long enough to see it. It can be heartbreaking. You see so much for them. (How much more their heavenly Father?) Honestly, you go between wanting to shake them a little bit and wanting to bawl your eyes out.
What can we do?
- Pray for them.
- Determine not to quit.
- Keep on doing what you are doing.
- Be there and be reachable, but know when to give them some space.
Sadly, there comes a time when after you've been there for them, encouraged them, and admonished them in the spirit of meekness, you just step back and give them some space. You never give up on them, but you let them reach out to you. For whether we like it or not, initially, it is their choice. You cannot force it on them. They have to want it. Then you pray, pray, pray for them.
I wrote this a few weeks ago, not knowing that I would need to put it all into practice. It has been heartbreaking. One of my friends stopped coming to church faithfully. I had been worried about her. She had not answered my texts. Then she let me know that she was going to a different church. It hurt. It broke my heart and made me weep. I thought I had done something to hurt her, and I felt awful. The truth was, it was not something I did. I had cared for her. Yet, I felt I had not done enough. I asked myself, "What if I had prayed more for her?"
My parents were an encouragement to me. They said they were proud of me for being a good friend. After that, I went for a walk and cried out to my heavenly Father and my friend Jesus. It made me think of all He went through for me. He had all His friends forsake Him in His darkest hour. Then I thought of myself. How many times have I neglected my dearest Friend? I asked God to forgive me. Do you know what happened next? I saw a couple of cardinals up in the trees. If you remember, cardinals are my sign that God loves me. He put those cardinals in my path to tell me that He still loves me. He has always been there.
I came back to the porch to find my mom, my nieces, and my nephew Patriot on the porch. I sat on the swing, and Liberty came and sat by me. She had seen me cry earlier. She asked me to tell her a joke. I am not good at telling jokes, so finally, I pulled out Silas's joke book to read a few to her. Even though we laughed at some of the weakest but silly jokes, it was just what I needed. The Bible says that a merry heart doeth good like medicine. I found that to be true, and God used my little niece. You see. As I said earlier, I can't afford to quit. There are little ones watching me. There are other young ladies in the church. If I quit, what will that say to them? I must press on no matter how hard the journey, no matter how weary the well-doing can be.
I recently heard a song from Heartland BBC's new cd. The song is Press On. As I was listening to it while mopping, it touched my heart. It talks about a weight on your shoulders. It talks about standing strong while others walk away and about darkness that tries to shake your faith. But then it says that Jesus knows and is telling you to press on, for it's worth it all, even the cost. "You will make it through. Press on." We must continue to run our race and press toward the mark. There are still souls to be saved. There are still lives to be touched. Don't give up. Don't quit. Keep on fighting, praying, witnessing, walking, etc. Press on.
Praying you will have a heart that presses on,
Elisabeth Kristine
