Room 204

Ever get caught up in your own world?

A few weeks ago I had fell into the world of "Joel". I was letting every little comment, event, or task bug me. Poor poor me. In reality though I was just spending way too much time worrying about stuff that today I couldn't tell you about.

I was cured of my self inflicted illness one Tuesday night...
I came into worship practice and started setting up. Our youth Pastor saw me across the room and gave me a wave and nod that signaled over to him. He asked me if I would be willing to go pick up a 7th grade student that wanted to learn about the worship team so he could play on it one day. Pastor Troy then told me that Ryan's father had pasted about 6 day ago....

So I got in my car and headed over to his place. I didn't know what to expect when I got there. My mind raced, trying to find the right words to say on the ride back..

As I pulled up to his apartment I took a deep breath and said a little prayer asking for some kind of wisdom. I walked up to the second floor and knocked on the door of 204.

The mother answered the door. In the background I could see a 5 year old boy peeking around the corner. He was holding a toy tight to his chest. I smiled at him. "Ryan will be right out, he is just packin up his guitar right now," the mother said to me with a exhausted smile on her face. In the mean time the boy in the background was hidden behind his mother's legs. I could only see his two eyes. "What's up buddy?" I said softly to him. Immediately he came from behind the safety of his mother and desperately took hold of my shirt. What was I supposed to do? This kid had just lost his dad a few days ago...and now he is reaching out to me? No words came out of my mouth, rather just a pat on the head.

Now Ryan came out of his room.
Bright blue eyes, medium length blond hair, and a skinny little 7th grader is what he looked like. His eyes were his most distinguishing feature. They were large and shining, but they also had the installment of the loss of his dad still.

I said bye to to the mother and his brother and we went off to practice.

Our conversation in the car was normal. We talked about music, school, and girls.

I was supposed to be there for him...being a youth leader...but he was there for me too.
He woke me up to see that this world isn't about me. This world is about others. Serving. Helping. I see Ryan every Tuesday night still and we continue to grow together.