In the beginning is a good place to start...
Growing up in a large Catholic family is a good place to start in youth ministry. Being the youngest of seven in the family is icing on the cake. Growing up down the street from the evangelical Wheaton College was a bonus. Going to 12 years of Catholic school with lukewarm Catholics added to the mix. Being called a hypocrite in college was the fire.
Five boys and two girls made for wild times growing up. Having all five boys in one bedroom added to the combustion. What kind of problems could five boys cause? Ordering pizza for the next door neighbor and laughing while it is being delivered. Playing hockey in the basement and leaving dents in the ceiling. Breaking windows while playing baseball in the backyard and playing it so much that we wore out the grass. Breaking a broom while handing out 'birthday spankings'. Fighting in the backyard over fouls during a one on one basketball game.
My two sisters were not ones to put up with much shenanigans and they had our family dog Funny Face to protect them. Who names their dog Funny Face? The same people who named their other dogs: Puddles and Freckles. And, yes, Puddles did live up to its name which gave it an early trip to 'the farm'. If one of the brothers tried to even touch our oldest sister, Funny Face went into attack mode. It only made it a more challenging experience to wake her up for breakfast.
Breakfast - one of my favorite memories from my childhood. I could smell from my bed, my dad, making the coffee, eggs and pancakes, or french toast. It got you up real quick because food didn't last long in a big family with five boys. Of course, meal times were a sacred time for our family. Everyone had their seat. I was 'assigned' sitting next to my mother. On the other side of me was one of my older brothers. We called him 'the garbage disposable'. He would eat anything! We would add things like ice, salt and pepper, just to see if he would notice. Never did! Meal time was a time of prayer, grace before and after, laughter, fellowship, and more shenanigans.
In a big family, everyone has to help with meals: setting the table, washing dishes, and cooking. Being the youngest, I had nothing to do with cooking, but cleaning or setting the table. I perfected getting out of meal chores by hiding in the bathroom. Of course, it didn't always work out. The other thing I perfected was stealing cookies out of the cookie jar. I had to hold the lid just right.
Coming from my family prepared me for all the crazy things teens could do. My family also taught me the importance of being. Being. Being together. Being there for each other. Being together in good times and bad. These are things missing in the lives of many teens.
This reminds me of a story of a big family who lived on the west side of Aurora. They lived in a big house with the grandparents. In 1996, there was a big flood. The floodwaters surrounded the house. They were all huddled in the living room and suddenly they notice that the grandfather is nowhere to be found. They look all over the house. They notice the youngest child looking out the window. They ask the child if he had seen his grandfather. He points outside. They look outside and see the grandfather's hat floating on the water. It floated to one side of yard and turned around and floated toward the other side. The boy said "I heard grandfather say 'Come hell or high water I am getting that lawn cut. '"
Five boys and two girls made for wild times growing up. Having all five boys in one bedroom added to the combustion. What kind of problems could five boys cause? Ordering pizza for the next door neighbor and laughing while it is being delivered. Playing hockey in the basement and leaving dents in the ceiling. Breaking windows while playing baseball in the backyard and playing it so much that we wore out the grass. Breaking a broom while handing out 'birthday spankings'. Fighting in the backyard over fouls during a one on one basketball game.
My two sisters were not ones to put up with much shenanigans and they had our family dog Funny Face to protect them. Who names their dog Funny Face? The same people who named their other dogs: Puddles and Freckles. And, yes, Puddles did live up to its name which gave it an early trip to 'the farm'. If one of the brothers tried to even touch our oldest sister, Funny Face went into attack mode. It only made it a more challenging experience to wake her up for breakfast.
Breakfast - one of my favorite memories from my childhood. I could smell from my bed, my dad, making the coffee, eggs and pancakes, or french toast. It got you up real quick because food didn't last long in a big family with five boys. Of course, meal times were a sacred time for our family. Everyone had their seat. I was 'assigned' sitting next to my mother. On the other side of me was one of my older brothers. We called him 'the garbage disposable'. He would eat anything! We would add things like ice, salt and pepper, just to see if he would notice. Never did! Meal time was a time of prayer, grace before and after, laughter, fellowship, and more shenanigans.
In a big family, everyone has to help with meals: setting the table, washing dishes, and cooking. Being the youngest, I had nothing to do with cooking, but cleaning or setting the table. I perfected getting out of meal chores by hiding in the bathroom. Of course, it didn't always work out. The other thing I perfected was stealing cookies out of the cookie jar. I had to hold the lid just right.
Coming from my family prepared me for all the crazy things teens could do. My family also taught me the importance of being. Being. Being together. Being there for each other. Being together in good times and bad. These are things missing in the lives of many teens.
This reminds me of a story of a big family who lived on the west side of Aurora. They lived in a big house with the grandparents. In 1996, there was a big flood. The floodwaters surrounded the house. They were all huddled in the living room and suddenly they notice that the grandfather is nowhere to be found. They look all over the house. They notice the youngest child looking out the window. They ask the child if he had seen his grandfather. He points outside. They look outside and see the grandfather's hat floating on the water. It floated to one side of yard and turned around and floated toward the other side. The boy said "I heard grandfather say 'Come hell or high water I am getting that lawn cut. '"
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