Experiencing the Unseen

Ephesians 6: 10-12 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

This past weekend I saw student's lives changed, had open and honest conversation about sex and relationships, and watched three different generations bond together sharing wisdom and teaching one another. It was a beautiful picture of family ministry.  Adults and teenagers were together talking about subjects that I think most churches try to sweep under the rug causing people to learn about sex and relationships through media and other misleading sources. One parent put the weekend into her own words...


"Mostly this weekend I was reminded that teens want adults to be real, truthful and to show them respect.  And we did that--we talked about subjects a lot of churches would have avoided.  We were specific and not vague--my church told me things like "sex is a gift to be opened when you are married" and at the time that just sounded like blah, blah, blah. We tried not to do vague or blah, blah, blah and I think it was really good." - Wendy Mucci (Youth Leader and Parent)

As a result of God doing amazing things through this one weekend, Satan got really pissed off. The week before while I was planning several things happened that had potential to ruin this retreat. Ironically enough, as I was trying to write down lessons about what it means to have healthy relationships I had a really hard time in my own marriage due to  poor communication, lack of trust in certain situations, a lack of intimacy and quality time. All stuff I was writing about to teach kids what it means to have healthy relationships I was failing at the week before! I was incredibly discouraged. Then, two days before the retreat I tried to have a brief leader's meeting for all the adults going on the trip. It ended up being a two hour very heavy and heated discussion about some of the curriculum this retreat involved. The day before the trip, adults and students dropped out because they were unhappy about some things I planned which made me feel pretty discouraged. 

Finally, Friday came and just as we were waiting to load up in the bus I walked out to find college aged girls in very short shorts had pulled up in their Red Bull car and tried to pass out free Red Bull (energy drinks) to twenty teenagers before a retreat. I told them "No thanks!" and then they told me in front of all the parents and students... "Are you kidding? They are all going to hate you!" To which I replied... "That's OK, I am used to it."

There were many amazing things about the Relationship Retreat, but I kept finding myself feeling down from time to time. Discouragement hit me hard before bed so I wasn't getting good rest. I kept wondering if anything I was saying was getting through or if  anything was really making a difference. How do you measure success? I kept having fear that the kids were not having fun because there wasn't much free time. I kept worrying about what I should say or do differently to help them truly understand. And after Sunday morning I wasn't discouraged any longer because God spoke to me in many ways.

Saturday as I went to bed discouraged I had a dream. God sent me my Grandfather who passed away. I heard a voice say, "I have a surprise for you." When I looked up I saw my Grandpa Brown. I kept saying, "This is impossible he is dead. He can't be real." To which I heard a voice say, "This is real." So I went up to him and he hugged me. My Grandpa looked into my eyes and his eyes were radiant when he said, " I can see what you are doing with the youth and I am so proud of you! What you are doing with these teenagers is really good stuff." And then I woke up.

Sunday morning I heard nothing but encouraging words from students and adults. Just when I thought my bucket couldn't fill up any more, I heard God clearly. When we got back to the church and everyone was gone, I had the parking lot to myself. But as I was walking across the lot to put my suitcase in my car I suddenly felt goosebumps all over in 80 degree weather and felt tingling around my neck and shoulders. I felt like someone had their arm around me. When I looked around to see who was there, I didn't see anyone but then heard very loud and clear in my mind, "Well done Good and Faithful Servant. I am proud of you." I knew it was Jesus.

I knew it was Jesus because I knew it was Satan who tried to destroy the weekend before. I know God worked this weekend in big ways because of the darkness that hovered beforehand. I know that even through the discouragement God shed is light. We had two students come in the place of some who dropped out and I know God had a purpose in them being there. Students and adults worshiped and laughed together, confessed, and spent time just loving one another. The Holy Spirit showed up and renewed hearts and minds. I know this happened because I saw the enemy try to steal this weekend away. And of course God remained victorious and He always will. We can help God in this battle if we open our eyes and start recognizing the unseen battles all around us.