Both Young and Called
There is something heartwarming about watching kids reach a point in their lives where they step up as leaders in the world, or rather, their world. Despite having joined Jesse Ketchum somewhat recently, it is such a joy to see the genuine desire some of the older boys in our after-school program have to lead activities or even just to be of help in some way, shape, or form. At this age, it is understandably hard for them to see why there are limitations to what they can lead or help out with. However, their eagerness to lead usually supersedes their disappointment when they hear that they are not old enough to do certain things. Such eagerness has helped these boys to learn and grow as young leaders, and I am confident that God will continue to use this eagerness to prepare them for the time in their lives when they are old enough to do some of the tasks they already wish to undertake. I get it, though, the challenges of being both young and called.
Being the youngest Outreach Worker on the team, as well as at JK in particular, I better understand now that quote, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called”. I look back from my first summer internship with TCM in the Orton Park community (previously known as Kingston Galloway), to now being an Outreach Worker at Jesse Ketchum, and I see how God led me out of my comfort zone to reach this place of leadership. God called me from being a helper to now learning to instruct, delegate, and command the room. While God is growing me in these areas of leadership and ministry, the challenges of being on the younger side have made themselves apparent. I notice it when a parent struggles to confide in me because I’m younger, or when various people ask me if I’m a student, to which they end up confirming they asked because they thought I looked young. Sometimes I simply feel my youth when I catch myself in moments where I should know something, but I make a mistake in applying it to a situation. However, I’m inspired by the eagerness and determination of the older boys in our program. I’m learning not to despise myself for my youth as Paul instructs Timothy in a popular verse,
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
I recognize that this call to ministry is a blessing from God, and that in the end, it’s really not about me or being younger or older; it’s about being obedient to my Heavenly Father and trusting His will over my own.