Lost Treasures

Fifteen

EMORY

After the session, which was full of praise and teaching, it was time for small groups. I was feeling kind of nervous because I didn't know who all would be in my group. I hoped there would be at least one person I knew.

"How do we find our groups?" I asked Madisyn, who was sitting beside me.

"Usually it goes by church, and then breaks down by girls and boys. But since you're not here with a church...I guess you're the exception. So you can pick whichever group you want to be in."

That sounded nice. "I'll go with your church, then, if that's alright."

"Yeah, let me ask our leader to make sure." She pulled me over to where a tall brunette was standing. "Hey Maia, this is Emory. She came without her church because they don't really have a youth group. So is there some protocol she has to follow, or can she just be in our small group?"

"That should be fine, since she doesn't have anyone else to go with." She turned to me. "Hi, Emory, it's nice to meet you. My name's Maia, and I'm the girls leader at The Crossing."

"Cool. Nice to meet you, too."

We waited for the other girls to gather around before starting. Everyone sat down in a circle, and I noticed some other groups doing the same, so I followed suit.

After we'd went over names (there were a lot to remember!), Maia asked what we got from the message.

One girl talked about how she was just like the Pharisees, but hated to admit it. "I feel like I'm always judging people in my head. And I mean, I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, so maybe that's where it comes from. I've gotten prideful. Whenever I look at others, I can easily point out their faults."

Another girl spoke about how she saw herself as one of the lost sheep, who had wandered off the path. "I know I need to come back to him. Sometimes it's just so hard to get in that groove of reading your Bible every day, or even praying. And then I feel like a bad Christian, so I just don't do anything."

"Yeah, I liked what he said about the shepherd rejoicing over his sheep," one girl commented. "How the Father rejoices over us, too. I needed that reminder."

Madisyn piped up, too. "I liked what he said about the ninety-nine sheep being like a huddle of believers. We have to take care of each other. I'd never thought about it like that before. Everyone always talks about the lost sheep, but never the ninety-nine that were left."

I nodded in agreement. They were all good points, but I didn't feel like adding anything to the conversation. I was still processing it all.

"So what's the point of a small group here?" one girl asked, and I figured she was new.

"We talk about the message and see if anyone has prayer requests," Maia answered. "On that note, does anyone want to share what they're praying for?"

The group fell silent for a moment, but then one girl raised her hand and admitted that she was battling anxiety, and after that, almost everyone had something to add to the list.

When it got to me, I didn't know what to say. "Um, I'll pass," I mumbled. I didn't know over half these girls, so I wasn't really comfortable sharing personal information with them, anyway.

Maia prayed over the requests pretty generically, but she assured us that she'd written them all down and would be meditating over them during her quiet time the next day. "Goodnight, girls. Make sure you don't stay out too late."

A few of them giggled. "We won't."

I rose to my feet, pulling my jeans up. I'd decided to change into those for the session, because the sanctuary was somewhat chilly when we were there last night.

"Isn't lights out at like, 11:00?" I said to Madisyn. What were we going to do until then?

"Yeah, this is just a time to wind down, ask the pastor some questions if we have them, and get ready for bed. What do you feel like doing?" she replied.

"It doesn't matter to me," I said with a shrug.

So we just walked down the hall and out the front double doors of the chapel. We began to walk around the campus as the stars popped up all over the night sky.

"So, um, what's the deal with Israel and Hosea?" I asked. "Like, why do we always hang out with them? Not that I mind, I just...didn't know."

"I guess because they're a familiar face in the cafeteria, and also, Hosea doesn't really know anyone. He just came as Israel's friend."

"So he's kind of like me, then? He didn't come with his church?"

"No, his church doesn't come here. They're kind of small, from what I've heard. I only know because Israel came from there."

"Oh...do you know what happened? Like, why'd he leave his best friend's church?"

She hesitated. "I think that's something he'd have to tell you. I don't even know all the details. Just that something really bad happened that made them leave."

"Okay. I was just curious." We paused, walking.

"So, what's your life like? You said you live around here," Madisyn spoke up.

"Oh, yeah, I do. And my life is—" I stopped, unsure of what to say. "Well, it's pretty normal, I guess. Missouri isn't that exciting."

She laughed. Then, "Didn't you say you live with you grandma?"

I nodded. "I have for a long time."

"That's cool. I was never close with mine. Just when we started talking, she passed away. I remember going over to her house one day, and even though we'd never been close, I asked about her childhood and how she met my grandpa, and we just sat on the porch talking for hours. It's my best memory with her. But just a few weeks later, we were attending her funeral."

I couldn't imagine that with my own grandma. The idea of it made me sad for her. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I just wish I'd taken the time to get to know her while she was alive. You know, besides that one time. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I was on my phone too much, just not paying attention. We miss out on a lot of stuff that way."

"I'm sure you weren't. Did you see her often?"

"No, not really. She lived kinda far away, on a farm-like piece of land."

"Then don't blame it on yourself. She probably really liked talking to you that one time, and I don't think grandparents really count our mistakes or how much time we don't spend with them."

"Kind of like God... Like what Pastor Brett was talking about tonight, how God just loves us without fear. It's hard to comprehend someone loving us when we ignore them, but they still do."

"Right. Kind of like that, yeah," I said, the corners of my lips raising to a smile.

After awhile, we ended up at the dorms, so we went to our room and started getting ready for bed. "You know what?" Madisyn said as we slipped into our separate bunks.

"What?"

"I'm really glad you came this year."

I smiled. "Me too."