Hallelujah

It's the title of the blog, so I figured sharing this night of my life was appropriate. It's one of those times that are just right because they encompass all that we were created for-glorifying the Lord through pure enjoyment of Him and His creation. It is one of the rare times that the tension we live in disappears and we are precisely who we are meant to be...a worshipper. And in that moment our whole being cries out "Hallelujah!" I aspire for my entire life to be like these moments. So here is the story:

I was with some of my students, four girls to be exact. We were on a retreat and decided to take a walk on the beach just before bedtime. In case you have never walked on the beach late at night, without a little creativity it is pretty boring. Basically it is just dark, but with a little imagination and understanding of God's presence, it is magic. And the next thing I knew the five of us were in an intense sand-ball fight (we don't have snow in Florida). We were throwing sand and kicking saltwater at each other. We were so disgusting, but laughing like 4year olds. Then we decided it was time to go swimming...in our basketball shorts and t-shirts and at 1am. We had so much fun laughing at ourselves and enjoying the beach. It was glorious. Then we went inside...

First everyone else laughed at how dirty we were..and let me tell you we were disgusting. So after showering and cleaning up all the leftover sand in the bathrooms, we being girls ended up talking in the kitchen. And that moment happened, the one that youth leaders worldwide hope and pray for and rarely have happen...the girls say, "teach us." They didn't care what it was, but they wanted to know more about Jesus and who He is and how much He loves them. And so we talked and looked at Scripture and thought about application.

I was so encouraged by these high school girls. Their love for the Lord, for each other, and their desire to share Christ with the world are a blessing to those they interact with. They have a passion for life and living it in such a way that God is glorified at all times. These girls will be dangerous, so take note.

I feel blessed to have this memory of them and an ongoing relationship with them in which we can continue to enjoy what the Lord has given us. And that experience has reminded me of just what our lives should be like all the time....hallelujah.