About twenty years ago I began my longest stint working at the church where we raised our son. I had previously worked briefly n the Children’s Day Out program, as the newsletter editor, and as part time Youth Minister. After a three year break to return to school for my teaching certificate, I went back to work at the church as full time Children and Youth Minister. That job shifted after a year to Communications and Youth Minister.

Looking back, I remember my time in that position fondly. So many memories of mission trips, weeklong summer camps, mystery trips, Confirmation classes, retreats, lock-ins and special events. Sunday afternoon Youth was a mixture of Bible Study, all sort of games, and general hang out time. One of our primary sponsors was a photographer, so I have tons of pictures capturing the moments.

Of course, not all of the experiences are joyful. Being a Youth Minister is hard work and comes with a lot of judgment. Everyone has an opinion about how to attract Youth to the church and feel free to share their opinions. Preteens and teenagers can be fickle and are at the mercy of their parents to get to the church. There were many Sundays where it was just my son and one other student with four sponsors. I tried to remember that number did not matter, but it could be discouraging.

Over ten years have passed since my last Youth event. Most of the students that we shared those years with I only see on social media or catch a reference from their parents or grandparents. Last week, I was getting my haircut by one of my favorite former students’ mom. She mentioned his age and I was startled to realize he is closing in on thirty years old. In my memory, he is always sixteen.

We have two choices when faced with memories from our past. We can focus on the good times, or we can dwell on the bad. I have done both during the ten years since I left paid church ministry. The highlights have been glamorized and made better than they were. In an attempt to brush over the low points, I suppressed them until they roared back to the forefront at inopportune times. The pandemic gave me the opportunity to step away from the building of that church and the community. Now all I have are memories captured in time.