For the past few summers, I've had the privilege to work for the children's minister at my church, and let me tell you: It's a blessing. I love working with children. I think I've figured out why I love working with children so much: I can act as if I'm 8 years old, and they won't think I'm immature or crazy! In fact, they think I'm the coolest person in the world, and that's awesome considering I'm perhaps the most uncool person in the world. But hey, let them think what they want. They are at such a vulnerable age in life and need the correct instruction and attention to grow into the children of God they are called to be.

Working with children the past few summers has been a tremendous blessing, but this summer, I have the opportunity to do something different. I applied to be a youth intern at my church, and thankfully, I got the job! I am very excited and anxious to have this opportunity to invest in the lives of our youth.

When I was in youth group growing up, we always did super fun things. Seriously, if you weren't at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Wednesday and Sunday nights, where even were you? Our church was the place to be. We always had the best time playing games, swimming, laughing, singing, and most of all, growing closer to the Lord and each other. I looked forward to every summer activity our youth group offered and made sure to invite all my "pals" to come along. At every event or activity we had planned, we had our youth interns there assisting and helping lead out. I always looked up to them, even though they were just a few years older than I. To think that I can now plant that seed into one of the youth's lives is absolutely incredible. Knowing that these youth need someone who can point them to their Savior is a huge responsibility, but I couldn't be more thankful to be able to play a part in that.

In addition, every summer the youth go on two camp trips. I can remember being so excited about these trips as a youngster. I can also remember the interns coming on the trips. Having someone closer to my age made it easier to "open up" about things I needed to talk about. The interns were, in a sense, our "person" (like on "Grey's Anatomy") we went to whenever we needed someone to talk to. Now, I get to be that "person" someone once was to me!

You see, these youth are going through "that stage," and you all know what stage this is. You don't know who to hang out with, what to wear, how skinny you should be to "fit in" (you never should find your identity in a pants size), what boyfriend you should have, where you should go on the weekends, or what letter grade classified you as a nerd. We all have been in that stage. If you've made it out of that stage, you so desperately want to utter these words, "Hey, you're gonna make it. Be who God created you to be, not who the world wants to see. You are perfectly imperfect, and you are worth so much more than the approval of this world. Turn to the ways of the Word and not the ways of this world." As an intern, I am looking forward to encouraging these youth to find their identity in Christ alone, not in the ever-changing world.

I am also looking forward to being an intern this summer because I have been praying about going to seminary. When I was diagnosed with exercise bulimia, I wondered how any good could come out of something like that; but as usual, God can make a way when there seems to be noway. He has put a desire in my heart to be an aid to anyone who goes through this same situation because even the Christians who seem as though they have it all together really don't. We have all strayed away from Christ at some point. I am so thankful for His omnipotent power to redeem His children. He is the One who will turn beauty from our ashes. My desire is to hopefully, if in the Lord's will, be a Christian counselor who specializes in eating disorders and addictions so the Lord can receive all the glory that is due to Him.

One of the most important reasons I am looking forward to working at the church this summer is because of service. I love being around people who love the Lord and can help me be a better servant for Him. No matter what the duty may be, whether it's packing, cleaning, leading or assisting in any activity, I love helping people. As Christians, we are called to serve. In fact, that's exactly what Christ came on this earth to do.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45

Along with all of these things, I am also looking forward to building relationships with the youth. I already have established close-knit relationships with many girls in our youth group. In fact, some of these girls have grown to be some of my closest friends. We go to Oxford together for "girls' night," watch movies together, eat a ton of food, laugh, talk about boys and drama, and try to solve the world's problems. I've found some of my most favorite people in the world in this youth group, and I am forever thankful for the accountability we have with one another.

At our church, our youth group has this cute little saying, "YG=F," which means "Youth Group Equals Family." Guys, that's what this is all about. It's not about who can win messy games or who can eat the most pizza; it's about growing closer to one another through Christ. Building close relationships with people who can bring you closer to the Father is our goal. We all know the saying, "Christianity isn't a religion; it's a relationship," and I couldn't agree more with this. We all struggle and have bad days. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all need people to hold us accountable. Thankfully, we all have a Savior. Thank You, Jesus, for always meeting us at our mess and delivering a message to us to tell the world.

I can already tell this summer is going to be a blessing! God is at work, and I can't wait to see what else He will do, because when God shows up, miracles happen and lives change. I am looking forward to all of the adventures, challenges, memories, and lessons to be made this summer.