Reflections

Last week, I got to serve as one of the chaperones for All Saints’ youth group lock-in. I was excited for this opportunity to get to know some of our All Saints’ youth a little better, as we stayed at church from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning.

 

Perhaps this is a stereotypically priestly thing to say, but out of all the activities, my favorite was the Bible discussion which was led by Director of Youth Ministries Nick Brata. Nick led us in a conversation on God’s will for our lives using the story of Abraham and Sarah from Genesis. It was great to hear members of our youth group share their thoughts on what God’s will is and how we pursue it, or accept it, in our lives. The story Nick chose reminds me that God’s will is surprising. When Sarah hears that she is supposed to have a child (in her nineties!), she, understandably, laughs (Genesis 18:12), but God responds, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14).

 

For young people especially, who have to juggle thoughts of graduation, career, college, etc. there can be a lot of pressure to have one’s plans in order. And of course, there is value in plans! There are things that can’t happen without planning. But not everything of value follows plans or expectations. Sometimes God’s will can lead us into something wonderful that we never imagined for ourselves or at a different time than we imagined it happening.

 

When I was the age of our lock-in attendees, I definitely hadn’t considered ordained ministry yet; I hadn’t even considered attending an Episcopal Church! This was a direction for my life that my high school self couldn’t have planned. While in seminary or my first few years of priesthood, I hadn’t planned on returning to school to study creative writing. Unexpected changes in the course of our lives can sometimes be delightful – but they can also be confusing and complicated. Thankfully, we get the benefit of trying to understand God’s will together, like we did at that youth group lock-in. Events like the lock-in, or the upcoming choir cabaret, or other gatherings at church remind us that God’s will has to do with so much more than the big decisions of our lives; sometimes God’s will is fun and friendship and cupcakes with sprinkles.

 

-Rev. Megan