With a Cloud of Dust and . . .

When I was a kid most of our family vacations consisted of traveling Route 66 (and I-40 as it took shape) back to visit family in southwestern Oklahoma. Across the California desert and through Arizona and New Mexico I was facinated by things that were not part of my world in coastal southern California. One was thunderstorms... those huge drops falling so fast that your wipers couldn't keep up with them. Another was the whirlwinds or dust devils, as my dad called them. They would rise up unexpectedly in the desert, picking up dirt and sand, spinning furiously for a short time, only to fade away. Sometimes they would race along parallel to the road. Sometimes they would cross the road ahead or behind. Once in a while one would cross the highway just as our car got there, and it would give us a shake as if some giant unseen hand had brushed up against us as we drove... then, it would be gone.

I feel kinda that way as I sit here tonight. This weekend we've had a youth minister candidate, Chris Cates, with us, and it has been a whirlwind of activity. Dinners, meeting with teens, and families, classes, devos, hanging out... I'm tired, and I'm not the guy in the spotlight. We anticipated the weekend... it began with a rush... it built to a climax... and now it's over... Chris will catch an early flight in the morning. I feel as if a giant unseen hand has grabbed us and gently rushed us through the weekend. It's over.

When we would stop for gas or to get something to eat, I could always see the dust and sand the whirlwind had left behind in the seams and creases of the car. In a way those deposits helped tell the story of that year's trip... how it was different than last year or next. I think the same thing has happened this weekend. I don't know if Chris will become our youth minister, but I'm pretty sure that his time here has changed us... leaving traces of himself that will make this weekend special for our kids; and I also think that when he gets on that plane at 6:00 in the morning, he won't be the same guy who came down the ramp on Friday.

I'm just thankful that we intersected this weekend, and I'm confident that God will continue to use Chris to bless the lives of young people.