Bob Tarpin and his wife were just finishing the hanging of 4 more posters along one wall of the Silver-Top Seniors activity room. Most of the posters featured happy faces of youth while some showed some senior couples with almost as much white hair as Bob and his wife Betty.
Four themes were clearly presented:
- Teens today are really
hurting inside, with no-one wanting to care about them.
- Faith-based groups were
not doing nearly as much as they could – and should.
- Silver-haired
generation was the most qualified to reach out and mentor them.
- Scripture is the
premier 'how-to manual' to guide mentors of teens.
“I don't know if it's just me or what, but it seems like the program is pretty much gender one-sided.” Betty (that's Bob's wife), continued with, “Yeah I know there are a few girl screwdriver jockeys, but I wish God would show us how to get girls into the program. So many of the girls are stuck in the middle of social networking on their cellphones, and hate it. They know it's not satisfying in the long run. Most every one of them see all this networking is computer quicksand and is taking away their life and happiness by inches, each day. Bob, I believe that 2Timothy 3:17 pertains deeply to girls too. Honey, could we stop with the posters for a couple minutes and ask God what His plan is?”
Even when you're not around quicksand, step one of your plan should always be to ask God what His plan is, and to switch all your plans to following His plan. Why? The reason is simple and straightforward. His plan is already in motion and right on His schedule. Do you want a plan that carries you to victory and FULL JOY? There's no other way. Adopt His will and way and trust Him every moment. That old black book that begins, “In the beginning God...” is full of evidence that He is in control in every situation.
Blaster's phone rang with Beulah wanting to ask Blaster a question about the Scrap 'n Screwdriver program. “Mr. Jackson. I have a question, I want to ask you. OK?” Blaster, (that's Gramps), remembered that even though Beulah was confined to a wheelchair, she still had a real passion for serving her Savior in whatever way she could.
Gramps asked, “Well, Beulah, what's your question?” “Well, I have this 19 year old friend of mine, Isabel Rohas, that's handicapped worse than me, but she loves Jesus too. She wants to help missionaries tell kids how much He loves them. Now I was just thinking. You are having some of the youth take old computers apart to make toolbox teaching kits that are going to be sent to missionaries in Mexico and other places. Gramps, maybe there would be a way that Isabel, we call her Izzy, could help.”
Beulah continued with her idea. “I bet Izzy would be pretty good at translating some of your stories and directions into Spanish. Maybe you could have a Mexican pastor check out a couple of her translations to make sure she was doing a good job. That way lots more kids and Bible teachers could use your toolkits. See, Izzy is a pen pal with several teens in Mexico and South America, and she does a good bit of translating into English when she reads them to me.”
“Even though Izzy is pretty much confined to her bed, she still wants to help. Gramps. I figure you're better at talking to God than me, so could you ask God if He could find a way to let Izzy help? If you're too busy, I'll ask someone else to ask God.”
Friend...
If you received a telephone request like this, what would you do after you hung up the phone?
