Winter Weekend 2011 Recap!
December 5, 2011
Cheers to the freakin’ Winter Weekend.
God has never been as real as he was over the last 48 hours. Using words would be disrespectful, it can’t be contained by descriptions man has produced. What I CAN tell you is that my life will never be the same. Ever. The only way to even give you the slightest idea of what happened is to say that I turned the Lion’s Sunday Night Football Game Off after 5 minutes to walk around Campus and listen to this song on repeat.
Nothing else matters. The Lions playoff chances, the homework I should be doing instead of typing this, even the Macaroni and cheese timer that just went off downstairs. Let it burn. The only thing that matters to me is the things that God did this weekend and the things God is doing in the lives of the kids that I am beginning to love more and more every time they talk, smile, or do something stupid.
My favorite thing about them is their ignorance. Their ignorance of the fact that they probably are having a bigger impact on me then I am on them. Their ignorance of the fact that no revolution of the magnitude that they seek has ever been inspired by a group of kids their age. Their ignorance of the extent that they can make a difference. Their ignorance of the fact we can already see a change in them that they can’t even see in themselves.
It’s hard to have rational thoughts after witnessing what we witnessed in Lake City this weekend. The kind of joy that inspires kids to wrap their arms around kids they don’t even know and sing Justin Bieber songs at the top of their lungs and knowing that no one is going to give a crap if they look like a fool. The kind of passion that drives kids to tears while their talking about what God is doing in their life. The kind of curiosity that lends to them asking me questions I’ve haven’t even been asked by any teacher, pastor, or author. The kind of youthful wisdom and perspective that baffles a bunch of college kids because it is so simple, yet so perceptively beautiful. The kind of love that provokes them to be so desperately vulnerable in hopes that the sharing of their story will soften the hearts of others and touch them in a way that nothing else will. The type of weekend that makes me sit up in my room ignoring the smoke alarm that is going off due to the now probably blackened macaroni and cheese because I need other people to understand what I just experienced.
So here I am, in the aftermath. Physically exhausted, emotionally spent in every single way. But my spirit is full and complete, nothing will ever feel better than this.
They say that YoungLife is the closest thing to the world that God intended when he first created it. I know now that that is indeed the case, and until I leave this earth to the place where beauty is exactly as God intended. We’re in good hands. These kids are about to move it in the right direction.
I encourage you all to not give up on people. Ever. I’ve seen things this weekend I have never seen before in my entire life. 2 months ago we were overwhelmed and frustrated by the vulgarity, disrespect, and egocentricity of these same kids who are now peeling back the layers of their insecurity to show us the loving, caring, joyful, and passionate kids that we knew they have been all along. Most importantly, don’t give up on yourself. There is a wonderful God out there who can do indescribable things to you, through any and all circumstances. If you saw what happened over the last 72 hours. You couldn’t help but agree with me
Oh how he loves us.
This macaroni is going to be gross.
Blessings. Kyle Roskamp.
