Since I've been back to youth group I have been with the grade eight small group.
When I was first placed with them I was actually kind of disappointed. The youth I already know pretty well are all in grade seven. So I wanted to be in the grade seven small group so I could build off those already built relationships. I wanted to stay with the ones I already know and feel comfortable with. But that not what ended up happening.
So every Tuesday I'm chilling with the grade eight students. There are only one or two of them that I really know pretty well. The others I only know just from me weeks going to youth group this year. Even in the fall when I was helping out the small groups were made of a girls small group and a guys small group. Now they are grouped by grade level.
Even though I really wanted to be with the seventh graders, I have actually been surprised by how much I enjoy being with the grade eights in small group. These pre-teens can say some pretty deep stuff and although they act immature and play and have a lot of fun during game time, they can also be super mature when we are having group discussions.
This week we were talking about what it's like to feel empty and how sometimes we will try to fill ourselves up with stuff that only makes us feel empty again. Ultimately we talked about how only Jesus can truly fill us up. When we asked the youth what it means to feel be empty, one of the grade eight girls said, and I quote: "Feeling empty feels like you want to do everything but you also want to do nothing, and you're just really bored through it all." When she said this, all the leaders were just like whoa, that's deep.
This young girl was able to put into words a feeling that is so hard to describe. I was astonished by her ability to do so.
Every week at youth group I'm surprised by something new. This week it was the eighth graders. What will it be next week? I can't wait to find out.
Until next time,
Em
