Miracle Whip

Friends-

We argue HOW to pronounce the word 'miracle.'  Do you say MEER uh cull?  Or MARE uh cull? Our friend Troy Schwenke says the latter.  99.9% of everyone else calls it the former.  This was not meant to throw Troy under the bus, but to pull you in like a tractor beam (insert sound effect.)  Miracles.  What are miracles you've seen?  What is coincidence?

Last week at Washington Family Ranch camp, an 80+ year old who works there, who has seen COUNTLESS miracles that God has performed said: "...but the greatest miracle of all is what God has done in my heart."  Do we see the miracle of a changed heart?  Do we give God credit, or is the change too incremental?  Or have we let him continue what he started...but aborted the last mission and took control back?  Miracles are all around.  Being at YL camps is a thin place, where heaven and earth seem closer than a typical day.  I want to share a few miraculous moments I heard a few days ago from a few YL leaders/staff who just returned from camp.

One of our leaders, when working at a their job at a prison in the Inland NW, got to know a particular inmate.  Over a period of time, this prisoner's heart was visibly changed by encountering Jesus and releasing a life of hate-filled sin.  The prisoner shared with the YL leader about his children and wanted prayer for their life to go a different direction.  A path of hope, love and a path of faith.

Fast forward a few years to this past month.  Guess who is in HS now and headed out for Young Life summer camp?  That inmates child.  God answers the prayers of prisoners.  My apologies for my atypical ambiguity (yes, Jeff can be known to be an over-sharer) but one of our areas has leaders reaching all kinds of kids, even hurting ones who have grown up with incarcerated parents.  Yet what a blessing in this story, that the parent became a pray-er.  And God HEARD the prayers of a convict and acted.  God 'called' a leader to show up to a school regularly, build relationships with all kinds of kids (not just the confident, hipster ones mind you), and create the kind of relational momentum (through prayer, boldness and faithfulness) where girls would sign up and invite friends to come to camp.  And that is what we can celebrate.  Light in the darkness.  Hope to the hopeless.  Releasing prisoners.  Isaiah 42:7 expresses that Jesus came "To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison."

This echoed from Matthew 25 when Jesus expressed how he receives our efforts for those down and out as thought we served him directly. "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat...when I was in prison, you visited me...whatever you've done for the least of these, you've done unto me."

I love that you and I can be a part of Jesus' work in this world.  Introducing young people to Jesus who would not otherwise, and help them find a path perhaps that was not clearly laid out by their families.  Or...the families had to rely on prayer from behind bars.  God helps the helpless. Isn't its great we can be a part of the answer to desperate prayers?  Beautiful.  Let's pray that the girls' experience at camp was a life altering, hope infusing impact!

These posts will start coming as we leave for Malibu in 10 days and the stories will be shared!  Stay tuned.  'Subscribe' if you choose.  -Jeff-