The fight for hearts...
Yesterday, I felt something I wanted to try and put into words.
The objective was simple. "Try and get our life group of teenagers to the I Can Only Imagine movie @ 6:40pm in the Ada/Lowell Theatre." Sounds pretty simple, right?
Not so much.
We sent out a text to see what the group thought about this option. Actually Aly sent it out since it was mostly her idea. We saw it the week before and thought the themes of the movie would really connect with most of the students in our group.
In the first couple hours, we got two responses out of 8, one who was all about it and the other one that said she had a family dinner and wasn't sure she could make it.
After not hearing anything else, I sent out a text and let them know how much I thought they'd like the movie and to do all they could to make it. I asked them to get back in touch with me and I didn't hear anything.
This is when something kicks in called "forget-about-it". Has that ever kicked in for you? It's something that surfaces when you try to make something happen and it's just not getting any response and picking up any movement. Rather than failing...it's just easier to can the whole idea.
But something nagged me to keep on with the full-court press.
"What do you think, guys. I’d love for everyone to see this movie cause it’s something we talk about a lot and really gets you thinking. Please give a hoot back if you can go. Gramm is in, Madelyn might be, the rest of you wanna meet us there at 6:30ish?"
It was yet another nudge to the group...I got a response from someone else. "I can go." That was three.
Then another response came....
After talking back and forth for a while, I decided that I would offer to come by and drive them and said I'd pick up another guy who lived over in the area as well. I sent off this text...
Someone wrote back...
I wrote them all back and said they could all be home by 9pm easily.
Just then I got an email from the one I said I could pick up...
Again, I offered to drive if her mom was okay with that simply because I didn't want to let this thing go. The roads weren't that bad and I felt this was so important. More important as the resistance felt more obvious. I responded back...
By this time you'll notice I was putting all my cards out on the table. Without getting into the next 25 texts I sent individuals and the group, suffice it to say that I wrangled all but 2 to come. I was on the warpath at this point feeling like this movie would stir something inside them that most of them needed to experience.
As we watched the movie, I could hear crying down our row and I knew that God was pricking hearts. After the credits rolled, I stood up and gave some of them a hug and asked them what they thought, a few of them were a wreck and the others were standing there just sorta stunned.
It was a powerful night, but it was not a night that happened without a fight. I don't know if anything worth doing ever does.
It's amazing to me how I still can fall prey to just giving people the chance and then if they don't take it, I just take the first no as an answer when it's usually just an excuse or what is emotionally convenient at the time. It's so important to press in and have urgency. This life is short and the crucial things are being forgotten or let go so easily...we gotta fight for them if they have any chance of intersecting our lives.
It was just a night that I didn't want to forget. God, help me to feel the urgent love you feel for people and to not write them off so easily. Give me your passionate heart.
The objective was simple. "Try and get our life group of teenagers to the I Can Only Imagine movie @ 6:40pm in the Ada/Lowell Theatre." Sounds pretty simple, right?
Not so much.
We sent out a text to see what the group thought about this option. Actually Aly sent it out since it was mostly her idea. We saw it the week before and thought the themes of the movie would really connect with most of the students in our group.
In the first couple hours, we got two responses out of 8, one who was all about it and the other one that said she had a family dinner and wasn't sure she could make it.
After not hearing anything else, I sent out a text and let them know how much I thought they'd like the movie and to do all they could to make it. I asked them to get back in touch with me and I didn't hear anything.
This is when something kicks in called "forget-about-it". Has that ever kicked in for you? It's something that surfaces when you try to make something happen and it's just not getting any response and picking up any movement. Rather than failing...it's just easier to can the whole idea.
But something nagged me to keep on with the full-court press.
"What do you think, guys. I’d love for everyone to see this movie cause it’s something we talk about a lot and really gets you thinking. Please give a hoot back if you can go. Gramm is in, Madelyn might be, the rest of you wanna meet us there at 6:30ish?"
It was yet another nudge to the group...I got a response from someone else. "I can go." That was three.
Then another response came....
"I’m trying to talk my mom into letting me drive...she’s scared about the roads."
After talking back and forth for a while, I decided that I would offer to come by and drive them and said I'd pick up another guy who lived over in the area as well. I sent off this text...
"I can make the Murray Lake run with my swagger wagon. Drew? Khloé, I’ll let you get ahold of Robby and wrangle him in. Haha."
Someone wrote back...
"What time do you think the movie will get done?"
I wrote them all back and said they could all be home by 9pm easily.
Just then I got an email from the one I said I could pick up...
"Okay, well my sister just got home and said the backroads are really bad so now my mom doesn’t want me to drive again."
Again, I offered to drive if her mom was okay with that simply because I didn't want to let this thing go. The roads weren't that bad and I felt this was so important. More important as the resistance felt more obvious. I responded back...
"Sorry to be so insistent in making this work for all you...but i really want you to see this movie. We saw it a couple weeks ago and immediately i thought, “our group has to watch this together”. I just has themes that you will resonate with."
By this time you'll notice I was putting all my cards out on the table. Without getting into the next 25 texts I sent individuals and the group, suffice it to say that I wrangled all but 2 to come. I was on the warpath at this point feeling like this movie would stir something inside them that most of them needed to experience.
As we watched the movie, I could hear crying down our row and I knew that God was pricking hearts. After the credits rolled, I stood up and gave some of them a hug and asked them what they thought, a few of them were a wreck and the others were standing there just sorta stunned.
It was a powerful night, but it was not a night that happened without a fight. I don't know if anything worth doing ever does.
It's amazing to me how I still can fall prey to just giving people the chance and then if they don't take it, I just take the first no as an answer when it's usually just an excuse or what is emotionally convenient at the time. It's so important to press in and have urgency. This life is short and the crucial things are being forgotten or let go so easily...we gotta fight for them if they have any chance of intersecting our lives.
It was just a night that I didn't want to forget. God, help me to feel the urgent love you feel for people and to not write them off so easily. Give me your passionate heart.
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