When Fear Takes Over
I had an interesting conversation with a young adult recently who talked about a sibling of theirs who was afraid to wear nice clothes or be fashionable because they were worried someone might think they were gay. Wow. Talk about a wake up call. Because of my personal investment in the life of this sibling it hit pretty hard. It got me thinking a lot this week about the reality of fear and what our students are really having to endure through middle and high school. I have to admit, I was pretty frustrated. I was frustrated because I thought I had been doing a good job of commending, encouraging and affirming, building strength and support into this person’s life. I was once again confronted with the reality that in spite of how highly I might place myself in someone else’s sphere of influence, there is no way I will ever be able to compete with the influence of peers. One negative statement from a peer will destroy the work of 10 positive statements I give. I am not sure there is a solution to this reality except to keep commending, keep encouraging and keep reminding this student that the Bible says to ‘fear not’. As I think to the broader implications of this conversation, my heart breaks for so many of our students who are trapped by fear into being something or someone they are not because of what they think others will say or do. In terms of how to tackle this at a macro level, I really need to do some work with our small group leaders. I need to remind them of what life is really like for students and encourage them to do everything they can to commend, encourage and affirm the students in their group. We may not have the same influence as their peers but we’re definitely way more intentional and strategic and hopefully that will count for something. And as we pray, hopefully God will continue to whisper truth to them, that they are his and he loves them and created them.
Recent Comments