As seasons come and seasons go, so do obvious changes in our lives. As we enjoy the return of the seasons, it is not always so with our lives. I am referring to the times when we grow from our experiences, learn from them, and if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, mature in Him and grow ever closer to God. Digger and I just went through one of those obvious pivotal points in our lives, and although we miss some things at First Southern, we also realize that there is another adventure that God would have us to live.

The events I am writing about really start with Glorieta. Glorieta a year ago, 2001, actually. It also has to do with the youth leaders. Although in someways I would like to go into detail, suffice it to say that the youth leaders did not like Digger or myself and that still hasn't changed. Now for this year in Glorieta, July 13-19. Digger and I didn't have a clue that the youth leaders wanted us gone completely and scarce, not only at Glorieta but at the church as well. It became apparent half way through Music Week/Centrifuge at Glorieta. (Refer back to Music Week for other fun details)

I thought it would be nice to see some of the activities that the youth were doing and go to one of the evening services. The folks at Glorieta get some excellent youth pastors to speak for evening worship and they are a joy to listen to them bring God's word. These would be elective times to what was going on with the music portion that Digger and I were going to and if you know me, you'll know that I like a variety of events. I also wanted to support the youth, when I saw them, by listening how God was working in their lives and encouraging them to grow closer to Him. It is wonderful to see their faces light up and their excitement when they talk about Jesus or God.

Mid-way through the week at Glorieta, I stopped and talked with one of the youth who was by himself. I figured he would like someone to talk with and we proceeded to talk about going on trails and where to go and how long they take and so forth. I let him know of the trails I knew about and others I discovered that week. I was thinking that it's unfortunate that there wasn't someone who could take him on hikes more often. While talking with him, one of the youth leaders comes walking up and proceeds to accuse me of counseling the kids and that I needed to stay away from them. The leader couldn't even say specifically how I was doing that in the first place. In the second place, I wasn't doing any such thing. "Get back on your side of the camp" was mentioned and, of course, the leader had no place for saying that. How unfortunate that a Christian youth leader would say that to anyone or even to a member of the same church, never mind an Associate Pastor's wife. I knew that something was terribly wrong and my soul was truly saddened. Not just saddened but by Godly sorrow, it was that deep into my heart. Stay away from the kids completely? Can't even ask how their days were going? Ignore them? There was no way I could do that. The rest of the afternoon I turned to my Lord and said "This can't come back to home, it just can't" Yet, I knew it would and I stayed troubled off and on the rest of the week. Digger was none too pleased when he found out and how he dealt with it, you'd have to ask him. I can tell you that it was with much prayer as well. As for the rest of the week and interaction with the youth group, when occasions presented themselves that I could talk with them, I did but briefly. I was ever happy to hear that their experiences for the most part were growing experiences with God.

The weekend came and since my folks live in Albuquerque, I decided to stay with them until Sunday. (Whether or not my 20th high school reunion was going on that weekend, I still would have stayed . . . has it really been that long already? . . . naw, can't be) Anyway, Digger could stay until Saturday. When he left, I felt very, very, sad and very, very troubled. I knew that he was going back into the Lion's den. I knew that things at the church wouldn't be good because of what just happened this last week. I wanted to be there with him so he wouldn't have to deal with it by himself. I am glad that I was with family for added support because I couldn't have dealt with it by myself very well. For the rest of the weekend I enjoyed the high school reunion and getting together with friends that I haven't seen in too long a time. I was one of the people who was in the running for not changing much over the years. It's amazing how much more the guys change than the ladies overall. Sunday came and home I went.

I was not surprised to hear how things went at First Southern. The part I was surprised about were the lies mentioned in a letter to the Senior Pastor. To make a long story short, God brought about these circumstances for Digger to move on into full time seminary and for me to get a full time job. So, as ugly as things were (and in someways still are) it is a blessing to us because of how God would use these events for the benefit of His children. Romans 8:28 "And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose." The story doesn't end, it's still going on.   NEXT