The event at Our Savior Lutheran Arcadia on Saturday, Feb. 8th, 2020 had some very precious moments. One of the speakers missed her flight, so another brave participant chose to take over the session on the fly -- and did a fabulous job! Jim made a special connection with one of the singers who travels from school-to-school, performing and sharing about navigating a life that honors God and her values. Two teen girls who came with ATTITUDE (later confessing to me they wanted to bail out after the first session) literally stayed until the very end, hungry for more, transformed by what every speaker had poured into them.
The day ended with an especially touching moment for me, as my life came full circle. I watched as a woman I had mentored as a teen and young adult, welcomed the opportunity to pass along the wisdom she'd received from me to a girl trying to find her place in the world.
That is one of the hardest aspects of what Jim and I do -- we don't always get to see the results of lessons we have passed on. And there have been seasons where the only "fruit of our labor" seems to be hearing from people who made the same mistakes we did! Not that I resent the "Now I really understand what you tried to tell me" conversations, far from it. Being able to help someone start over again as I did, is its own reward. But I do love those times where someone takes what they learn from us, and races toward the goal.
Those moments make the memories of sacrifices, attacks, errors, contempt and lean years fade away. And they inspire me with hope for the generation coming of age -- maybe they will make better choices.
True foolishness is deciding you only want to "learn by experience," and just keep reinventing the wheel. True wisdom is learning from those that went before you, building on their sacrifices, trial-and-error.
Be wise -- go far!!