Dear High School Friends

*Written in 2016.... it all stands true today.

Dear High School Friends of mine,
Last night I watched you nervously check your shoes, jacket, and purses at the door as you tried to navigate a new homecoming experience. As we handed you a ticket, you held your head high, even when it felt scary, as you headed out to the dance floor surrounded by hundreds of your peers. Your makeup, your hair, your dress, your suit... All of it perfectly placed and ready to impress.

Last night I watched you kiss your boyfriends and hold hands nervously with your date and eye the couples around you. I watched the friend check her items seperately from the couple she walked in with. I watched young men mortified by the choices they made as the administrators asked them to leave. I expected defiance, but what I saw in your eyes was shame. Friends, shame was never supposed to be a part of our equation.

Sweet friends of mine, this night broke my heart in ways I wasn't expecting. As you left, your YL leaders whispered "Make good choices!" behind you. Not because it's what we always did, but because we know the pain and shame when we didn't. I worried as I saw the eyes of the girls who were more nervous at the end of the night than they were at the beginning. All they want is sleep, but will her date ask for more?

Oh, friends. How I wish I could bundle you all up tightly and whisper to you how loved you are. How cherished you are by the One who made you. I wish I could give you the courage to say "no" when the words feel heavy on your lips. I wish I could reassure you that your worth is not dependent on how you look or what you do, but solely on what Jesus did for you. I wish I could tell you how proud I am that you came to dance with your girlfriends and just enjoy life together, regardless of whether you had dates or not. I wish I could tell you how proud I am for giving him/her a chance as your date, having fun and laughing the whole night, even when things didn't go perfectly. I wish I could help you pick up the pieces in the morning, as you realize that last night ended with choices you wish you hadn't made. Oh how I wish...

More than anything, my wish for you is that in the midst of it all- the start of a new school year, big transitions in life, choices you did or didn't make, the joys and the sorrows of daily life, what homecoming night held for you- is that you would realize you are being pursued by Love himself. That each and every day, you would would find a truer and more beautiful version of yourself. The princess that you felt like on Homecoming night is how Jesus sees you each and every day, even in our darkest moments and heaviest mornings.

Love,
Your Young Life Leader