prayer labyrinth

if i have never mentioned before how blessed i am by every teenager i get to serve with please let me do it now.

i’m so blessed by them everyday of my life. seriously, i don’t know how you non-youth ministry people go through life without doing it.  i have the greatest job, boss, co-workers, church ever…and the best students hands-down that anyone could ever have.

now i’m done rambling about that for now anyway…

this week from wednesday-sunday (which is easter) we are holding a prayer labyrinth at our church.  for anyone unfamiliar, a prayer labyrinth is basically a time of experiential worship. we do it twice a year, in the fall and at easter.  as usual, the spring labyrinth focuses somehow around easter and it’s meaning to us as christians.

this year we took “lent”, which is traditionally the 40 days before easter, and turned it into a time of pressing hard into Jesus.  we offered to our students the opportunity to commit to this 40 day process.  during this process each of the students received a “directive” each day via text, facebook,a note on their door, etc.  they were asked to respond daily to the though/scripture/song by journaling and creating.  sometimes they received objects and were told to incorporate them in their art, to fast from technology, speaking, and looking in a mirror, to try new things, and sometimes just to sit, be quiet and increase their “tolerance for solitude”.

for me this was scary.  i definitely had ally’s and partners in this process who gave me the creative ideas and helped me with it all. but it was so scary to me because i have this “standard” to which these labyrinths should meet up with.  the girl who has done them for all these years did them so brilliantly and excellently that i know i can’t even come close to doing them that way.  this is the 3rd labyrinth that i have been in charge of (even though in the fall it was ALL mrs. alex who did everything…and none of me at all), and because of my “standard” i want to micro manage it all.

God totally took away my control.

this labyrinth is completely, totally done by the students.  their stations throughout the lab are totally theirs.  the art is theirs, the scriptures are theirs, the thoughts are theirs…everything.

seriously, i was freaking out…i didn’t know if it was getting done…or if anyone was actually even doing ANYTHING…but holy cow.

Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite scriptures…it says “you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart.”  if anything, this labyrinth absolutely proves that that promise is true.  i know that my God is faithful.  i know that He wants to be in relationship with His children…and i know that He delights when that happens.  the Lord met with these students during this process.  they are all on separate journeys…and at different places along those journeys, but the Lord met them all right where they were standing.  but He didn’t leave them there.  He pushed them along…and moved them all the time going with them, and it is so evident in their art.

there are things in every single space that moved me to tears.  (i must put up a disclaimer that i have worked 30 hours in the last 2 days…so maybe my emotions are running high…)  but seriously, the depth and maturity of their art and their thoughts that go beside the art is astounding.  their hearts are expressed SO brilliantly, and so honestly, and so beautifully.  looking at, and reading these things the students put together you would never know that 13-18 year olds did this stuff.  i don’t know many adults who could commit themselves and then pour themselves out so wholeheartedly.  these kids definitely set a standard that many adults i know would benefit from taking a close look at.  this is not “kid stuff”.  it is the hand of the Lord at work in their lives.  i can’t think of anything more awesome in the world to take part in and get to see.

the Lord is at work.  He is moving—at an amazingly perfect pace.  He is beautiful.

come see it.  it is a rare opportunity that we have to see so deeply into the hearts and lives of other human beings beside ourself.  there is art and thoughts that will speak to EVERY person.  that’s the beauty of seeing this journey through the eyes of 12 different people—there is something for everyone, no matter where you are on your walk with Christ.  i ask and invite you…i dare you even to try it out.

http://www.fathomministries.com/special-events

this is the website that tells you the place and the hours.

it is truly a beautiful thing to see the beauty and awesomeness of the Lord through the eyes of exceptional people—to any of you artists or anyone else on my team—you have blessed me so deeply during this process.

glory and praise to my awesome God for what He has done already and what He will do through this. i know it is going to be spectacular.

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