Club night is pure chaos. For those of you who have experienced it from the leaders end, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're constantly running around, getting things together for games and songs, practicing your talk, trying to make kids feel welcome, stopping kids from doing things that are too stupid, while also trying to keep the energy level up. My favorite part of the evening is after club when we all go out to eat. Not only is this just a chill, unorganized, time, but it's a time to talk to our friends and really get to know them.
A few weeks ago the Solanco leadership team had an interesting situation to handle. As I'm driving girls home, Lydia is the last person to get to Taco Bell. She sees a group of guys walking across the parking lot to the dollar store, so she decides to join them. As they are leaving the store, Paul* pulls a candy bar out his pocket and laughingly says "hey, look at what I got!" His friend, Rob*, laughs, and Lydia shockingly asks if he stole the candy bar. He says yes, and then eats it right away.
I get a panicked phone call from Lydia, and once she explains my first reaction is anger (like any good Christian). She talks with our other co-leader, Tom, about the situation, and decides she can handle it. She goes up to Paul and tells him she's going to go pay for his candy bar. Paul says he will go with her, and Rob says he wants to go too. Lydia gives Paul the money and he bangs on the doors on the dollar store, as they are locked and all the lights are out. Someone inside shouts that they are closed, and he shouts back "I stole something, I just wanted to pay for it!". Long story short, Paul shoves the money through the door crack as Rob is in the background saying "It's so easy to do the wrong thing, but so hard to make it right" (oddly profound, I know).
At this point, you may be thinking that Lydia is a really confident person who knew exactly what to do in this situation. However, the exact opposite is true. She is petrified, especially considering this is the first time Paul has ever come to club! She feels like she didn't do anything right. But as they are walking across the parking lot one last time, Paul begins to profusely thank Lydia. He thanks her for challenging him, and for making him think about what he was doing. Before he leaves he gives her a huge hug and says he's coming to everything Young Life from now on.
Sometimes, we just don't know what the right thing to do is. But praise the Lord that He can use all of our fumbling efforts to care for, challenge, and point each other towards Him. I'm not really sure who learned more that night, Paul, Lydia, or maybe even Rob, but I do know that the Lord used Tuesday night to teach us all about who He is.
*Not real names
Love,
SLC YL
