Highs and Lows

I’m feeling a little depressed right now. It is frustrating because I know I shouldn’t be and that makes it ever worse. In Youth we had been running around 40 and as much as 50 for a couple of months now, then for some reason the past 2 weeks we have dropped off to less than 30. I don’t know exactly why. I know where a few of the students were last night, and I know where a small group is and why they likely won’t be coming back, but I don’t know where two of the other groups have disappeared to and why. I ran into a couple of the girls yesterday and they told me they were coming tonight, but then church time rolled around without them being there.

I feel guilty for being depressed about this because I know that the number game is dangerous to get into. There will be highs and lows and if I invest too much into that I will be up and down with the numbers. Here I sit feeling down and telling myself I shouldn’t feel down which makes me feel more … down. It really is a vicious cycle.

On the other hand there have been some serious highs too. I’ll be starting a smoking cessation class for teens in a couple of weeks. This class will get me some valuable face time with “at risk” teens. I just finished my training and have talked to the head of the community group that is sponsoring the classes about starting in a couple of weeks. This is something I’m really excited about and believe it is an answer to my prayers about finding ways to build relationships with teens outside the church.