I spend a lot of time working with youth. As a high school teacher and volunteer for my church's youth group, as well as as the mother to a couple. I suppose the lesson I relearned the other night should've come as no surprise then. Our youth group had just spent the evening talking about relationships...and how human relationships often seem to fall apart and what causes that. After the lesson ended, one of the girls who I spend time with in a smaller group setting came and sat down near me. This girl is usually loud. The focus needs to be on her. She will interrupt, poke her friends, play with her phone...almost anything other than be present in our discussions. And yet, this same girl sat before me now quietly. When I asked if she wanted to talk she shook her head no. Before I could prod much further, tears started to slide down her cheeks. I moved to where I could put my arms around her and let her cry for a couple of minutes as I realized that she was hurting over her parent's divorce. This divorce happened about 8 years ago...and it is still tearing her apart: her heart, her loyalties, her time, and...I realized, her whole self.
As I held this grieving girl and we talked about the Love that doesn't fail, even when human relationships do, I was reminded about brokenness. Often the loudest people we know, those most difficult to get along with, are the ones going through deeply painful things. I knew this. I had just forgotten. It is easier to go through one's day avoiding the painful people. And yet, being able to reach out to them and make a connection gives a day a whole new meaning. Being willing to reach past the thorns to make a small difference--not an easy thing, but the lesson I relearned the other night.
