Stirred

Ronald was kind of emotional after the service yesterday night. I had all but given up on him; he comes off as a typically unfazed apathetic. Ronald is seventeen and has been with CityView since he was twelve. Looking around at the many other teens, I realized that Ronald is the one in whom I have invested the most... Yet he remains spiritually dead. And while the ministry has seen spiritual life in the form of many other teens being stirred up to faith and repentance, Ronald and his girlfriend have remained utterly stagnant. Most of the time they put up with the Bible, while at other times we get some push back against it. However, something clicked yesterday. I talked with him for a long time after the service. (And Julia talked to Mikayla even longer for similar reasons.) Ronald was dealing with a range of emotions from a tough home life and school scene, but he spoke about realizing the love of God. For the first time of his own initiative, he told me that he wanted to get real about studying the Word. He literally called me while I was writing this to make sure I would come and get him after school this Thursday to this end. Please pray that God would continue the work in Ronald's heart, and in the heart of his unbelieving girlfriend, too. Reflecting on this, it really goes to show how it is the Holy Spirit that breaks down hearts, not the eloquence of anything I could say... And even when I had all but given up, God was making a move.