"When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things."
1 Corinthians 13:11
Our Reality at the Bridge House
The month of February has been a mixture of emotions, not too different from other months, I suppose. Living and working directly with youth is very rewarding but also can be tiresome as we think and work through various situations and questions about life. The circular conversations and misunderstandings certainly do get wearisome, though. The above verse is a blessing to us as it comes to mind regularly, reminding us that we all went through those years the same and, praise God, came out stronger and wiser in the end. We have a friend with kids the same age as the Bridge youth and she shared that there is a disconnect in the reasoning part of the brain that only completely connects at about age 23 or so. With that knowledge in mind, we laughed together as we shared our struggles and were all encouraged that life would be looking much brighter if we could just hold on and be patient. I love that God gives us good relationships with older, wiser friends for times like these.
WGO Scholarships
WGO offers a full scholarship to our youth at the Bridge House (school and books, room and board, and extra cash to cover to all toiletries, clothes, etc) and like all scholarships, requires the youth to meet and complete the requirements of that scholarship: receiving good grades, getting along well with others at home and following house rules, and working or volunteering part time. Those requirements, although not always popular, have pushed our youth to excel in most if not all areas on a regular basis. As the youth relax in an area and slow down or stop meeting that requirement, their living expenses also shrink in a small way to get their attention. This has proven to be the motivation that has truly worked well for the youth. It has stretched them and grown them socially, emotionally, and spiritually. It has made them question how their friends and others do things and has helped them understand the value of harder work and natural pressures that so many around them experience. The ministry has blessed them with such a good opportunity to learn and better their own future. It has helped them seriously prepare for whatever comes thier way.
Please Pray for Us Please keep the youth, as well as us, in your prayers. Pray that we all have patience with each other as we work our way through the blessed life God has given each of us. Pray that we learn well and honor God in all we do. May we show mercy, grace, and forgiveness to each other as God does to us. Remembering that we work with young adults and the challenges that go along with that age group, we often have to remind ourselves that these youth are a "work in progress" just as we all are in God's eyes. May God give us His patience and understanding. We have a neat group in our house and we are thankful for them and how they are maturing and preparing for life on their own. Praise God! We have to keep reminding ourselves that He knows exactly what each of us needs in our own personal training under His care in preparation to some day be with Him in eternity.
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been known fully. But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:12, 13
