Andy was home from college for Mid-Term break and asked if he could talk at the Wednesday night worship. Andy has opened his heart to this group of Jr and Sr High school students before and is well-loved and respected among them. I blogged about that very special night . I hope you caught that one.

He rose to speak. Andy is popular and well liked but apparently it wasn't always so. He began by telling the kids what he was like in Junior High. He had been an angry young man. He was defensive. He struggled with his life and even made a suicide attempt. He was in high school by the time he moved to Kearney and he felt accepted right away. I don’t know where he lived before or why his family moved here but they did. He found a fresh start here.

His life here was good. People liked him and he became one of the popular kids while he lived his faith out loud. It was well known that he was a Christian. He was elected Homecoming King by the vote of his peers. Kids wanted to hang out with him. He had the kind of countenance that pulled people to him…kind and nonjudgmental.

Underneath his outward happiness though he struggled with the thoughts that he was not worthy of all his peer admiration. He also had to resist the temptation to believe all the wonderful things that were said about him. He knew he was a sinner. He said it is hard when everyone is telling you how great you are all the time. You have to be careful with that kind of input. You have to walk a fine line. It’s hard work.

He graduated and went to college and guess what. No one was feeding him those wonderful words anymore. No one thought he was a great kid, no one even noticed him anymore. He was nothing. No one cared. What a shock! He had been getting his human strokes all along and suddenly that well went dry.

He said he started reverting to his old Jr. High thoughts. All the anger and resentment came flooding back. He was overwhelmed, as college freshman often are.

One day he noticed that between classes all the kids were in their own little worlds, with head phones on or their cell phones stuck to ears. He decided to use the time as a time for prayer and conversation with God. He began to recover… refocus… renew.

The kids listened quietly as Andy spoke. He was kind of rambling, confiding things that were surprising and disturbing and finally uplifting. There was much for them to think about. I am sure it never occurs to most of them that popular kids struggle, worry and hurt, too. Could this good-looking, kind and funny young man ever have hurt enough to want to end his life? Could this spiritual and confident guy ever be angry at the world…at God? Are we all vulnerable to these feelings? How can we get through it? How can God help us?

Andy didn’t really have answers other than sometimes you just have to turn to God and trust him. Keep your eyes upon Jesus in all situations and never doubt what he can do for you if you believe! Life isn’t easy for anyone. We all struggle with our own demons. It was an important “heads up”.

Matthew 14:22-31