So Much Different Than I was

I had the opportunity to accompany the deacons on their camp out this last Friday night. I spend most of my time with the older boys and don't associate nearly as much as I should with these four youth.

I have to tell you, I am completely in awe of how much different these boys are compared to how my group of friends were at their age. They are so strong and close with each other, regardless of what anyone of them did or said, they stuck together and acted like the kind of young men we always want them to be. There weren't any favorites or any that received any undue teasing from the others, such a far cry from the way our groups behaved when I was that age.

We were a pretty tight group ourselves but there were times and more specifically, boys, that for some reason seemed to received the brunt of our unprovoked teasing more than they should have. There are those that I helped tease that I no longer know where they are and can probably never apologize to, and for that I will always be sorry.

But this Friday I was pleasantly surprised with the strength of the four youth I got to hang out with. They didn't seem to care that others may be what I consider more challenging to deal with, they didn't seem to care that everyone was different in one way or another, and they didn't seem to care when one made weird comments. They didn't care at all, they accepted and encouraged everyone, something I wish I had been able to do at their age. They are so much different than I was, and I'm grateful for that.