Journey. It builds friendships throughout
thick and thin, providing memories that will last a lifetime. On my last post,
a Journey leader shared his story of his students creating a silly little
catchphrase during a Quizzing practice, and this saying remained with them for
years to come. A friend did a similar thing during my freshman trip, way back
when Summit was still in Chicago. He was constantly quoting the movie Elf, in particular the line “The yellow
ones don’t stop,” in reference to taxis. Our church was located in a rural part
of New York so we rarely saw taxis in person, making a sighting of them
incredibly exciting for us, much like seeing a unicorn would. Experiences and
stories like these are what truly made Summit special for me, and I’ll be sharing
many more of my favorites as the weeks go on.
While Summit itself is still a little ways
away, Regionals are here for many of you. For those who have never participated
in a Regional competition, they were a constant in my Awana career from the time
I was in second grade all the way until junior year of high school. These
competitions were far less intense than Summit competition-wise, but no less
beneficial.
The most obvious impact was that Regionals
showed my Journey Team, and myself, where we needed to dedicate our practice
time. Whether this was a new strategy for the Balloon Relay, more intense
Volleyball practices or renewed focus on a particular section of the Quizzing
material, Regionals were essential in our preparations. Without these intense
events we would not have been the same team at Summit-certainly we would have
arrived less prepared.
These trips also provided something far more
important than practice: friendships. While the teams we competed against were
from all over the state, there were people we just clicked with. Every year
we’d be thrilled to see who came to compete and who came to support, especially
our recently graduated friends. These friendships added so much meaning to
Regionals, giving them a value far beyond a trophy or ribbon.
I had an incredibly weird coincidence show up my sophomore year, when my best friend from my basketball team and I were chatting about Awana. Her church offered it up through T&T, and we were discussing quizzing when our T&T years came up. She mentioned participating in Regionals, a remark that made me freeze. There was only one Regional competition for T&T in our state-the same one I competed in annually. As it turns out, we had competed against each other in quizzing for all four years of T&T before we even knew each other! Two of those years my Quizzing team had actually beaten hers by only the slimmest margin. God had brought us together years later and granted us an-admittedly unique-bond through these competitions.
If I had to give you a moral through this
post, it’s never underestimate how God is moving in your life. Regionals grew
me both spiritually and in maturity through ways nothing else could have. If
you’re feeling doubt, fear, or boredom about Regionals, talk to God. These competitions
may seem silly and trivial, and honestly, in the long run–in the world’s
eyes–they are, but don’t let this prevent you from being open to God moving in
your life. I’ve heard countless stories about how Summit impacted my
friends-don’t limit God to those three days. Use this entire experience from
the first Journey meeting of the year to the finale event as an opportunity to
grow.
