To Mourn and To Dance

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to do what I love to do the most in the ministry: plan and lead worship on a retreat. This was my second year helping with this retreat. I was with a youth group from GA, at a camp in TN, and we all stayed together in a lovely mountain cabin that was perfect for forming community and experiencing God's creation. This year's retreat focused on discipleship, and as part of the weekend's discussions we talked about the very difficult reality that discipleship isn't always easy--that it's often met with impossible questions, agonizing struggles, ugly grief, and helpless feelings.

For me, one of the most powerful moments of the weekend was when Hannah, the youth minister, made a connection that I had missed.

On Saturday night, we, as a group, took intentional steps to walk into the painful pool of grief. We spoke our grief (for ourselves and the world) just as God spoke creation into being, realizing that words are powerful and that being heard is a huge part of healing. We laughed. We cried. We sat in a place that we usually run away from. And we trusted that God was there, doing a work that none of us could do or explain.

Afterwards, we had smores together at a bonfire. I enjoyed sitting by the fire, handing out graham crackers, marshmallows, and entire bars of chocolate...and then standing by the fire watching marshmallows do that thing that they do when they burn. As I stood by the fire, underneath the beautiful moon, I watched a dance party unfold on the porch. The kids were having so much fun together, laughing and being kids...and then they all crashed together and watched a movie until time to sleep.

On Sunday morning, as we celebrated Christ the King Sunday (the culimation of the Christian Church year), we read together Ecclesiastes 3. And then Hannah said it:

"This weekend, we have wept together and laughed together; mourned together and danced together."

This weekend, with seamless transitions from worship to play, tears to laughter, activity to sleep, we learned what it meant to be disciples of Christ who live within the community of love that Christ desires to create. We learned that there IS a time for everything and that we ARE blessed even when it feels like we are at the end of our rope.

I cannot think of a better way to spend a weekend than that...and today I feel so very blessed.