B is for Bobblicious

B is for Bobblicious

Deuteronomy 6:5

“⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

            In my career working with youth, I have seen so many youth come and go.  Some are there because they are told to be by their parents, some are there because of their friends, some come because they want to make a difference, some come to learn more about the bible.  But there are those few that come for all of the above.  They come for their friends and to make a difference, and they come to learn more about the bible.  They come because it is important to them.  Not their parents, or family, or friends, no they come because it is important to them.

            Bobby is one of those youth.  Although for the first 5 years of his youth group career he stood in the shadow of his three triplet brother, Bobby came to life during his junior and senior years.  He because a leader in the youth group.  Bobby always made youth group a priority.  He was a part of everything we did, from ASP to Feed the 5000, from the Guys retreat to the all Youth Retreat, from Youth Group on Sunday night to Sunday school and church on Sunday morning, from basketball to Friday’s for Jesus from Youth Leadership team to being a member of the church’s mission committee.  He was nicknamed Bobblicious a couple of years ago because there is no one else like him.

            One time in youth group, the question was asked, “who do you admire?”  Everyone went around the room and shared and when it became Bobby’s turn, he shared a couple of thoughts.  One of those thoughts was about me, Bobby said that I was a father figure to him, that he looked up to me and loved the relationship he had with me.  It was one of those moments as a youth director that make you want to cry.  One of those moments that make you feel like you truly are making a difference.  Those are the moments that help me continue my mission to help our youth on their Spiritual Journey.

Bobby is a special person, and the epitome of what you want a youth to get from youth group.  He has and will always be an important part of my life.  I thank God for the time I got to share with him, and I hope that he won’t forget us as he moves on with his spiritual journey.

            All my youth but especially Bobby makes me Love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength.  May the Lord’s grace shine upon me as I continue his work, and my his love wrap around Bobby as he goes out to be a fisher of men…