Anytime I’m away from this place for any stretch of time, I know that when I return, things will be different. I’m so grateful for the time I was able to spend at home getting to bond with Thea in her first two months of life. After being out for parental leave, though, there’s so much that has changed – not just in my family’s life, but in the life of youth ministry here at FUMC. We’ve added another person into the mix of the Davis family, and we’re learning how to be a family together all over again. Conversely, we’ve added a new person to the Youth Ministries team here, and we’re re-learning what it means to be a team. In both situations, there are new dynamics to figure out and lots of things to introduce. If I think too hard about it for too long, I could easily get overwhelmed.

At the same time, in the Davis family, none of the underlying important things have really changed. Our family is still a family that shows up for each other with love and grace. Our toddler still loves to run around and be silly, still loves to have random dance parties in the living room, and still loves to get donuts and juice on Saturday mornings with mom and dad. And he gets to do all of those things while talking his new baby sister’s ear off about it all. He gets to show her what it means to be part of our family. He’s taking the love that we’ve shown him in his first three years of life and sharing it with her.

None of the important underlying things have really changed in the Justin, either. We still meet on Sunday mornings to learn and grow together. We still share what’s happening in our lives as we eat our donuts and drink our lemonade. We still crack jokes and laugh and sing and play together. We still make this place our own each and every time we gather together. We have always said that this place belongs to the students, and that has never been more true, because while many things have changed, so much is still the same. And now we get to take that love and grace that has shaped this community for years and share it with someone new.

That’s what happens when your community is grounded in the grace of God and the love of Jesus. God’s spirit shows up in our lives through those in our midst in the Youth Ministries, and that remains constant no matter which students show up, which leaders are here, and who is on staff. As the school year begins and programming begins along with it, my prayer is that while everything will change, everything will stay the same. The Justin Building has been around for 70 years now, and it continues to be a place where relationships are built, people show up for each other, and God’s presence is known.

Thanks Be to God for that.

Rebekah Davis