Back at the Ranch

The emptiness of life. Everyone is searching for a fulfilling lifestyle; they want to know if what they are doing is making a difference -- if it really matters.

There are times when I question the move to New York. The reasons against it are endless, so far away from family, limited peer interaction, the "Christian" atmosphere is weaker, the Yankees, missing out on friend's weddings... you name it, there are plenty of concerns that take a toll on being 28 hours from "home".

Even more than that, why? Why did I move here? What if it doesn't work? What if I pour all this energy and time into a boy only to watch him fall once again? Even worse, what if he never gets it?

But then there are moments in the middle of the wilderness in the pouring rain, pointing at a map with a wiffle bat, watching individuals become a team. Sitting in a church service with a mother and her disrespectful son, seeing the boys you mentor doing a little mentoring of their own. Sweating in the middle of a hayfield knowing that the young man by your side who at one time never broke a sweat will be there until every bale is gone. Or wading in a lake to help a guy land his first fish. Waiting, acting, loving, hoping, learning, watching... watching boys become men.

And it's at these moments when all the "why's" and "how's" fly out the window, and you sit back only to watch and learn. Because the Living God is acting, waiting, loving, hoping, teaching and watching... watching his children grow. So yes, you can have questions about the purpose of your life, whether or not it makes a difference, if what you're doing really matters, but know this: the fullness of life comes not from the moments when you witnessed God working, but the moments when you participated in His work. The Omniscient Father has work going everywhere -- anywhere -- wherever you are. My prayer for you is not that you will witness God work, or ask him to bless what you're doing, but rather, ask to help Him in whatever He's doing. That's the fullness of life.