It is the Funny Things

I think all of us in Formation, regardless of the opinions, could agree on one thing. Formation changes you, it forces responsibility, or an accountability toward what is needed to be done. Either way, none of us could ever imagine the hilarious nature we would grow into. Here are several

1.       Being happy you can go to bed early (10:30)

2.       Being happy you can sleep in (7:30)

3.       Joyous over the Lenten penance, because you can still eat popcorn and watch a movie

4.       Finding that you have all your work done, so you take a 15 minute nap

5.       Intentionally bumping into, or messing with confrere

What I also found funny, is the random things we do. Normally a person my age would have huge plans for the weekend, not me! My plans are frequent.

1.       Go to youth center

2.       Get my hair cut(Or in some cases some give the hair cut)

3.       Watch a movie at home

4.       Study

5.       Go to bed early

6.       Attend an adoration an hour plus away

7.       Do my chore well

8.       Clean/Organize my room

Either way, I have learned that though the big things are what are needed to be done, it is the ordinary little things which form or attend to the result of the big things. As in you can run a youth center with nearly no flaws, having everyone behave, but in the end the kids feel a lacking. Or you can have the kids clean up before and after, and maybe have them help in an important job. The difference, though small, has an impact which can affect the young person for the rest of their life. It changes from, this is the place I hang out, to this is my home, which I have fun at and help others.

Finally, It is always funny to us in formation, that we could never imagine what would happen to us. Through it all, the hard times, the sick times. And the times you want to throw up your hands and start to sing the smerf song. But somehow God always gets us through each obstacle, and I dare say do come out better. Either way, community is very much like marriage. The only difference is your celibate and the kids usually go home after a while(Unless you’re at boarding school, it then takes a lot longer) But for us, we are very concerned with everyone’s salvation. Not just the youth we serve, but we are equally concerned with the salvation of our brothers. Because In the end it is not how many kids we minister to, but how strong our relationship with Christ is. Because you can be the most gifted youth minister, but without Christ you are ministering to no goal.