Lost. Devotion by Pastor Richard

Sept. 28, 2022

Lost

Have you ever been truly lost? Have you been in a situation where you were all alone, in an unfamiliar place and really had no idea about how to find your way home again? In our world today, it is much easier to find our way around as long as we have some cell service. You just punch in your address and follow the instructions and you can find your way home. I am talking about being really lost and unable to find your way.

I was in West Palm beach when hurricane Francis hit. After three days of wind and rain we went out driving around to see what damage had been done and to go check out the church and see what kind of shape it was in. I will never forget the disoriented feeling I had when we drove through town and I could not recognize the intersections because of all the downed street signs, stop lights, the fallen trees and road debris. Places I should have known were all terribly rearranged. It was the weirdest feeling. I was not sure where I was at times.

Still, that lostness is not even close to what our young people are feeling in the world today. Last week I was a part of a short online discussion with a bunch of youth workers and we were discussing Post Pandemic Youth Ministry and this one quote from Springtide Research really made me stop and think:

• “Three decades ago, the gravest public health threats to teenagers in the United States came from binge drinking, drunken driving, teenage pregnancy and smoking. These have since fallen sharply, replaced by a new public health concern: soaring rates of mental health disorders.” Our young people are getting deeper and deeper into crisis mode. Just think about it, they live in a world that is changing so fast they cannot keep up. They have survived a world-wide pandemic. Every day they face potential violence from gun shootings and bomb threats at their schools. We had several schools shut down last week due to bomb threats here in Cabarrus County. To top all that off, our young people have exponentially less adults in their lives helping them navigate life. They have very few, if any adults helping them become adults. They are becoming more lost as suicide rates and violence among teens increase.

I write this to acknowledge their struggles and their reality that most adults have no idea they are experiencing, and also to say there is hope. The hope is in you adults. They need you like never before. I have repeatedly shared that when we go on trips with children and youth, we need to have 1 adult for every 5 youth. In order to help a child to become a successful adult, that figure needs to be the opposite, 5 trusted adults in a healthy relationship with every single child. According to Springfield research: 1 in 4 young people say they have one or fewer adults in their lives they can turn to if they need to talk.

What will you do? What is God calling you to do? You can help someone one find themselves, even when you may feel a little overwhelmed and lost yourself. Together, we can help each other, but right now, our young people are in great need. They need adults in their lives!

Pastor Richard

Contact Richard to talk about your opportunities to support our youth

rsmith@harrisburgumc.org