Last Time This Year

Today marks the first of many events that will be the last time I share them with some wonderful people. Tonight's event is very close to my heart. We will have the last youth group meeting at our church  for 2012. What is so dramatic about that? Well, the girls in my small group are seniors. That means when we return for our next youth group meeting they will be a few short months from graduation. I've been with these girls since the summer after their sixth grade. They're my babies!
Four of the girls in my small group are now co-leading their own small groups of sixth and seventh grade girls with college students or another adult. I'm very proud of them for stepping up to do this during their senior year - a time when so many students tend to drift away from church and their youth group. 
Knowing that most of them will attend different colleges next year, I try to spend as much time as I can with them now outside of church. We go to the movies; go shopping; go out for coffee or food; and sometimes we just talk. I see some of the girls more than others because of their school, sports and work schedules, but we still stay in touch via social media and texting.
I don't know if God is intentionally ending my job around the time they graduate high school so I could be more flexible about visiting them at college or not, but if that was his reason, then that was pretty cool. :)
I would not trade the time I have spent with these girls for anything. They are as precious to me as if they were my own children. If you ever get the opportunity to mentor a student, please give it a try. It doesn't take a lot of your time, and it's time well-spent. The results you see over time will make your heart smile.

Proverbs 22:6

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁶ Direct your children onto the right path,
    and when they are older, they will not leave it.