Amos

Some days are harder than others.
But its in those days when I know that I must fully rely on God and turn to him, because the things that I see as weaknesses and the things that are getting me down, that is just how the Devil is trying to tempt me.

Lately, school and life has been rough. I feel emotionally beaten down, and there have been times where I wonder what I'm doing with my life and why I could be feeling like this.

This is Amos. He was the little boy that lived in the house next door to the church in Lodge Grass this summer. I remember the day that we met Amos, and I couldn't help but think he was just the cutest little thing. Amos has a stutter, one that I've never heard worse in a kid. Some days it was worse than others, but then there were times where it wasn't even there at all. He would get picked on by other kids for not being able to express himself in a timely manner, or he would get frustrated with himself when he wasn't able to say what he wanted to. His crocodile tears would break your heart and bring you to tears, but his laugh was the sound of pure happiness. At the end of the summer, Amos' mom came to us and told us that she's never seen him happier; that he would come home every night grinning from ear to ear with story after story about everything the YouthWorks staff had done for him. Amos' mom told us that we changed his life, and she couldn't thank us enough for being so kind to him and loving him in the way that we did.

When I'm having a bad day, and struggling with everything going on in life and with school, I just have to remember Amos. Kids like him are the reason I"m in my major, because they don't see it as a job, but as as act of love; they see it as someone who cares enough about them to help them get better. Amos is one of the strongest kids I know. He was truly a blessing to our staff team this summer and I believe that God sent him as an angel to us, to touch our lives and help each and every one of us in some different way. Even if everything else this summer had gone to crap, it wouldn't matter because knowing that we changed Amos' life is enough.

Blessings come in all sizes, you just have to remember who they are and remember what they've done for you.