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Well, this post won’t hit inboxes like normal, but I do think I got my instagram updates restarted. This weekend was a much needed reset for my brain and body, and I’m so grateful for the place I live that allows me that kind of margin. To be honest, I’m still adjusting to the annual cycle of year round school with term holidays and switched seasons from my brain’s default settings, so this long weekend is a nice pocket of rest as I carry on through to Christmas break. There’s no Thanksgiving holiday or “no school November” season of days off here in New Zealand, so I really will carry on until term four ends full of joy and gratitude for coworkers and volunteers around me eager to help young people be transformed by the Gospel.

Praying over my last round of purchases for the year this past week as well as considering what might change in my budget for next year reminded me what a huge responsibility I’ve been handed to steward this ministry discipling young people. Our youth group is super cool, and not just because we pulled off a last minute nerf war across the church building when the rain ruined our water fight plans on Friday night. This is an incredible ministry to be a part of because I lead a team of people who recognise how much Jesus changed their own lives and want to be a part of fostering that in the next generation.

In our team meeting a few weeks ago, I challenged my leaders to make purposeful connections with their own mentors and spiritual role models to make sure they were growing in their own faith. I know it’s important that I model this myself, and I’m encouraged to keep growing as I hear my coworkers talk about how God is leading and developing them. This environment is fostering ongoing maturing in the congregation, but that also doesn’t happen by accident. Last Friday, one of my leaders gave a talk on our youth group value of “seeking God.” We talk a lot about how anyone who shows up at RYC is seeking God, but we all have different starting points in that journey. Josh challenged the group that we also sometimes shift in our direction from day to day or through the week. He had a spectrum of running from God, drifting, and seeking God that we all slide along and encouraged us to each move ourselves towards seeking God more.

This weekend was a good reset for me to reevaluate the things I have in place that are helping me seek God and what’s dragging me towards the dangerous drift away. I’m actively trying to live within that eager seeking posture within the margin my body currently has. In the middle of an extra long workday on Friday, I was chatting with a coworker who offered me such grace for my body’s limitations. I am constantly aware of how much more I could do if my spinal cord injury weren’t such a limiting factor, but I also am able to do a lot of valuable kingdom ministry with the ability level I currently have. It does, however, require me to be intentional with how I take care of my physical, mental, and emotional health in a lot of unexpected ways. Knowing quick meals or freezer prep options saves my gut when my energy taps out early. Planning meetings and errands to coordinate locations closer together saves me physical energy but takes a bit more mental capacity.

Praise God for this weekend reset, but please pray with me that I’ll be purposeful as I enter into the rest of this term loving my young people well.