loving and being loved

last night, after a few hours of building the maze...
one of my most difficult girls came up to me and said, "I've missed you lately (pause) kinda." as if right away she realized how uncool what she had just said was.
so immediately i gave her the opportunity to redeem her "coolness." i said, "that's because i'm way cooler than everyone else you've been spending time with lately."
to which she replied, "no, my friends are way cooler than you are! (pause) but i've still missed you (pause) kinda."
so i gave her a huge hug and we chatted for a while.
isn't that great.
it is fun to be liked and appreciated.
youth ministry sure has its ups and downs but i'm really feeling excited these last couple weeks about the opportunities i've had to really connect with some of the students. God was awesome last friday in allowing me the ability to love some hard-to-love kids, which is very profitable for the future with them. and then good times last night. it's sweet when you get to spend some quality time connecting with kids that normally are on a totally different playing field than yourself. God is good. i am encouraged.