Retreat? For whom?
I felt a little under the weather leading up to the trip and I thought surely God will heal me from any illness so I could fully minister to the needs of these teenagers... and again, I am reminded that my will is not God's. It was a long ride up to Winter Park - teens with lots of energy and excitement. I sat alone, one of the bennies of being an "adult." Upon arrival I discovered I would be responsible for 2 rooms of girls. Fortunately 1 of the rooms was full of compliant, rule-following pre-teens, still eager to please adults. I met the room of other girls to be greeted by a, "well, at least your cool." This was a flag if I've ever seen one. Why, yes, I'm way cool - but for you to find that an advantage to your intentions tells me we might have some problems. Sure enough, after our first leader's meeting 2 of my ladies were in the hallway with explanations as to why security had been around. These 2 were giggly, boycrazy and mirror hogs. The 2 other girls were quiet, timid and unsure of themselves.
I slept on a pull-out with each spring digging into me, kleenex readily available and 2 girls chatting. I have not played the role of adult-disciplinarian with any one but criminals. "Girls, it's late - you've got 2 minutes before lights out." "Please be quiet, everyone is trying to sleep." "Ladies, no more talking." In an attempt to get some buy in from their own interests I encouraged them to get their beauty rest. And then I heard the faint sound of cell phones - that's right. They pulled out their cell phones and began to text each other!
Mornings were difficult - the 2 at the mirror - putting on eyeshadows, glitter, lip gloss, etc. The other 2 too shy to ask to use the sink to brush their teeth and me with own high maintence needs for daily showers and a blowdryer.
In the morning I went snowboarding with a young guy who seems to be a bit of an outsider with his own peers. We did well together and he taught me some snowboarding skills. He had extreme patience with me and was eager to encourage me when I did well. However, his desire to get to the top of the mountain almost lead me astray. In the afternoon we were joined by my quiet 2 who had taken snowboarding lessons in the morning. One was eager to get on the slopes, and the other reminded me of myself as a junior higher - defeated, uncomfortable and embarassed. She opted out of continuing and I found I had difficulty finding the fine line between encouraging and doting. She was left to hang out at the lodge with one of the leaders. And then there were 3. We took a run down a green and worked on our "mad skills."
My evening consisted of crashing in my room during their worship service and hanging out with one of the other sickies who was waiting for her parents to pick her up because the stomach flu was proving to be a bit much for the weekend.
On the day of rest, I was forunate enough to do just that. I went to the mountain with the skiiers and hung out at the lodge. I was there in case someone wanted to quit or needed a break. I got some coffee, sat outside by an outdoor fire and read a free magazine - I am now knowledgeable on the latest happenings in the skiing/boarding world. I sat and watched from the lodge window as the ant-sized people came down the mountain - some flying, some falling. I tried to take notes for my next adventure and was bummed I wasn't well enough to be up there myself. After packing the bus and a group photo, we headed back down to the springs- surprisingly, the bus was as loud as the way up - kids still full of energy despite late nights, early mornings and exhausting activities.
I felt a little under the weather leading up to the trip and I thought surely God will heal me from any illness so I could fully minister to the needs of these teenagers... and again, I am reminded that my will is not God's. It was a long ride up to Winter Park - teens with lots of energy and excitement. I sat alone, one of the bennies of being an "adult." Upon arrival I discovered I would be responsible for 2 rooms of girls. Fortunately 1 of the rooms was full of compliant, rule-following pre-teens, still eager to please adults. I met the room of other girls to be greeted by a, "well, at least your cool." This was a flag if I've ever seen one. Why, yes, I'm way cool - but for you to find that an advantage to your intentions tells me we might have some problems. Sure enough, after our first leader's meeting 2 of my ladies were in the hallway with explanations as to why security had been around. These 2 were giggly, boycrazy and mirror hogs. The 2 other girls were quiet, timid and unsure of themselves.
I slept on a pull-out with each spring digging into me, kleenex readily available and 2 girls chatting. I have not played the role of adult-disciplinarian with any one but criminals. "Girls, it's late - you've got 2 minutes before lights out." "Please be quiet, everyone is trying to sleep." "Ladies, no more talking." In an attempt to get some buy in from their own interests I encouraged them to get their beauty rest. And then I heard the faint sound of cell phones - that's right. They pulled out their cell phones and began to text each other!
Mornings were difficult - the 2 at the mirror - putting on eyeshadows, glitter, lip gloss, etc. The other 2 too shy to ask to use the sink to brush their teeth and me with own high maintence needs for daily showers and a blowdryer.
In the morning I went snowboarding with a young guy who seems to be a bit of an outsider with his own peers. We did well together and he taught me some snowboarding skills. He had extreme patience with me and was eager to encourage me when I did well. However, his desire to get to the top of the mountain almost lead me astray. In the afternoon we were joined by my quiet 2 who had taken snowboarding lessons in the morning. One was eager to get on the slopes, and the other reminded me of myself as a junior higher - defeated, uncomfortable and embarassed. She opted out of continuing and I found I had difficulty finding the fine line between encouraging and doting. She was left to hang out at the lodge with one of the leaders. And then there were 3. We took a run down a green and worked on our "mad skills."
My evening consisted of crashing in my room during their worship service and hanging out with one of the other sickies who was waiting for her parents to pick her up because the stomach flu was proving to be a bit much for the weekend.
On the day of rest, I was forunate enough to do just that. I went to the mountain with the skiiers and hung out at the lodge. I was there in case someone wanted to quit or needed a break. I got some coffee, sat outside by an outdoor fire and read a free magazine - I am now knowledgeable on the latest happenings in the skiing/boarding world. I sat and watched from the lodge window as the ant-sized people came down the mountain - some flying, some falling. I tried to take notes for my next adventure and was bummed I wasn't well enough to be up there myself. After packing the bus and a group photo, we headed back down to the springs- surprisingly, the bus was as loud as the way up - kids still full of energy despite late nights, early mornings and exhausting activities.
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