I just read this Psalm recently: "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." (Psalm 91:14-16) We've been talking about prayer a lot at First Pres. Our youth pastor's wife, Kim, even showed us a new way to pray. When you pick up your Bible and read and come across something that you just want to say amen to, do it! Call on God's name by repeating His promises back to Him. Acknowledge what He says to you in His Word. It's truly amazing! I'm not saying that I'm as close as I should be. I'll never be close enough, no one will be, but I have struggles just as much as everyone else. I can't find my way back to God. I'm lost and have no idea where to start looking. You'll say prayer and Scripture reading, but it's hard. I have to discipline myself, but it's hard to do it as a high school student. Sometimes I don't even have time to practice anymore! I'm supposed to put God first, but it's harder than it sounds, even though the fire is constantly being rekindled at church and youth group. Mom's been talking to me a lot about using my talents for God. At first I didn't know what she meant, because it's kinda difficult to think about someone when you're concentrating on playing well. Then my parents decided that a way to serve others was to play at a nursing home once a month. That didn't really strike a chord with me. I'm not an old people person; I'm a little kid person. I have trouble talking to old women who think that I'm their granddaughter that they haven't seen in months. But I went up to them every month and gave a nice, "Hi, how are you?" and moved on. This month, though, something changed. Like the Holy Spirit was filling all of us. I found a certain courage and love that I hadn't felt there before, so I walked toward the ladies boldly and gave them all smiles and hugs. But out of all of them, I will not forget the second woman that I hugged. I didn't recognize her, and found out later that she'd been there for only two weeks. She took my hand in hers and said that she lost her last daughter that past July, and that she had no family left. My heart broke. It's a wonder that I didn't start sobbing onto her shoulder right then. But I heard God's message as plain as day. This was true service. This was what He called us to do. What's the point of doing things for ourselves and getting minimal pleasure when we can comfort "the least of these" and feel more joy than ever before? I've been thinking about Christianity a lot since then. Who are we? How can we call ourselves followers of Christ if we don't give people food when they're hungry, or drink when they're thirsty, or shelter when they have none? My friend Carolyn went to India from mid-December to early January to help out in an orphanage. During her presentation, she said that the orphans had next to nothing, and yet they were some of the most joyful people she had ever met. She also read this verse: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27). There's our call, everyone. We may play different roles, but ultimately we're doing the same thing. Let's go and do what God wants us to do. ~*~EVA~*~ | 
