My Youth No More
by: Ronovan
I was part of the group that had brought him to us. Sure, I had been one of those with some doubts but in the end I thought it would be best for the church as a whole. Little did I know that it would destroy my ministry.
There were a number of years you might have called me that Super Christian. I was of the younger generation in the church and thus willing to volunteer for whatever needed to be done. One such thing was youth ministry. As a high school teacher it was only natural that I was drawn to the youth group. I had watched from afar, and then God stepped in and led me to volunteer to help out only to discover weeks later the Youth Pastor was leaving for seminary school and the duty of leadership fell to me.
Even stranger is the fact this happened twice. I helped hire the next Youth Pastor and then slowly stepped back to let him take over. But then with the coming of the new Pastor to our church that I alluded to earlier, things changed.
The Youth Pastor stepped down because of the financial burden the Pastor’s salary was putting on the church and the lack of support from the Pastor himself. I then stepped in and led the Youth Group again. But it didn’t last long. The lack of support was to repeat itself.
The new Pastor was more businessman than pastor. He knew of my marketing background and wanted me to go into a side business with him. When I didn’t agree things began to change. Also as head of the Deacons of the church I was seen as his competition, and a very young competition. Before long he was letting others organize things with the Youth Group without consulting me and finally the ultimate hypocrisy of his ministry was laid out before everyone to see except no one was paying attention but me.
My ministry was gone. I stepped down from all of my positions, which were many. I was tired. I was burnt out. My heart was broken and being pulled out of my body only to stick in my throat to choke on as I cried alone.
That Pastor has moved on now. Others have taken the various positions I held. Life events have taken me into a new ministry, here in this community of wordsmiths. Where I once encouraged only Youth now I encourage all ages. I share only positivity in my encouragement if not in my actual work.
God may not have brought me to the bad times and the heartbreaks, and I know He didn’t, but He is bringing me through them and to wonderful people that help me more than I could ever help them.
Much Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 20, 2014.
ronovanwrites 
Nice work again 🙂
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Thank you, but was it too fast and efficient?
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Fast enough to beat all of us..lol
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🙂 Be good, not fast. You are good.
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What I am is stuck yet again with this one… 😦
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I recently wrote a post about losing as a volunteer, which I call Giving Death. http://optimisticmisfit.com/2014/06/18/giving-death/
After an experience like yours, one really recognizes the importance of encouragement and support in all endeavors. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you very much! And thank you for linking that article. I just read it. It does bring pain when you KNOW what people miss out on because of others. Parents still tell me that they wish I were still with the youth today.
Much Respect
Ronovan
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Of course they miss you, passion is irreplaceable, unduplicitous, if that’s a word. Here’s to trying 🙂
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Thank you! I have to say every time I see you comment or like I love your photograph. It is just like another world to me.
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Aww thanks. I was in Nice in that photo. A world away from my world, but one that has a lot of meaning in my life.
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Is this for the “an event cancelled” prompt?
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Yes. That’s the one it was for in Writing 101.
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Okay, just wondering because I’m coming up completely dry on that one.
That sounds like a frustrating situation for you, but I’m glad you’ve found better places to dedicate your efforts!
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Well I don’t actually remember many event things because of the memory loss. So I went with what I had. I have suggested to some about losing the joy of believing in Santa Claus to the evil relative, or the Easter Bunny, but I haven’t seen those yet.
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Clever! I’d like to see that, too. I unfortunately (fortunately?) don’t have that story to tell because I logicked it out for myself. It was the Tooth Fairy’s fault — she was the weak link that brought the whole system crashing down.
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🙂 But that might get you on the road to thinking outside the box. Maybe you thought someone in the family made something homemade to eat for you special each year and it turned out to be store bought. 🙂
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Hahahaha let’s hope not. That would be a travesty in my family. Thanks for getting the rusty gears in motion!
Nice profile pic, by the way. I feel like you just turned into a completely different person.
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I was a bit worried about that. Not sure if I like it or not, having it out there.
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But thank you. 🙂
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Well, it’s a lovely shot. I know I prefer to be private and leave things to the imagination, but whatever suits you 🙂 I’ll admit I was taken aback for a second, because I had created a composite of your blog, profile picture, and cover photo that was effectively a fuzzy snapshot of what I thought you might look like. Not even close, haha.
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That’s what I was afraid of. I am worried it will take away from my work.
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Hmmm. That, I don’t know. I doubt it will take away from your work, per se, because your work doesn’t change with your profile picture. Your persona does, though, so it’s just a matter of whether you want that or not.
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Does it change how you perceive my work?
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Your old one make me think of a tortured soul, whereas this one seems nice, happy. I don’t know yet if it changes how I perceive your work. You could ask me again in a few days, maybe?
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Good. Just look at the eyes. They’re pretty much dead.
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I hope you don’t stop following me. 😦 I do want to try to have a picture taken that might do better for here. That’s just the one I have for now.
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Oh goodness, no! Don’t worry, the whole point of blogging is loving people for who they are. It’s a great picture. And I wish I could put a twinkle of happiness in your eyes to match the river behind you, because I hate to hear your talk so negatively about yourself. You’re going great work here…just keep writing, and your work will speak for itself.
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Thank you. To be honest you do help. There are some great people here. It surprises me how some of us end up together. It makes me feel good how people really are and want to be.
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That was writing from the heart..
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I am truly coming to enjoy reading all of your posts, Ronovan. Time and time again, you write about overcoming yet another obstacle – some relatable, some not so much. Nonetheless, you tell tales that keep your audience intrigued and wanting more. I appreciate that about you. What I love the most is how your faith has given you an entirely new outlook on life. To that, I can relate. 😀
~ Angela
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Thank you! It’s the one thing that remained through my accident. I remembered God, Jesus, and Bible Scripture.
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To that I say, “Praise God! Hallelujah!” 🙂
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Hi Ron, was wondering if this was a real story, and if so it’s really wonderful to see how God has moved in your life. It’s such an encouragement. 🙂
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Hi,
Yes, it’s a true story. You’ll notice a lot of poetry in my content about how much I hurt from my Fibromyalgia and the like but it’s just how I get those things out of me. I’m good. 🙂 I say all of that so you don’t think that I’ve lost what this story was about. Writing is my therapy of sorts. My daily Bible time is the thing that keeps me going.
Much Respect (to a little girl with a blog?)
Ron
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It’s an inspiring read! 🙂
Haha, well.. I’ve grown a fair few inches since then but still a goofball.
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