You need to hear that you were annoying as well

“You were exactly the same at their age”

This message is majorly important for my six year old because she has a sister going through the terrible two’s.

This involves tantrums.
This involves occasionally throwing things.
This involves the unwillingness to share.

And, this greatly annoys Little Miss 6.

The message she often hears is, when she was younger, that she was exactly the same at her age.

This is why we don’t get as frustrated or surprised as her.

We have seen it before.
We have heard it before.

I think this message is also significant in youth ministry.

For those who have been around long enough to see a generation of teens grow into their fledging youth leaders, it’s important to remind these young leaders of the times when the modern teens emulate their previous generation.

They were just as annoying.
They were just as loud.
They were just as frustrating.
They were just as smelly.

And, vitally, they had leaders who had to show grace. And patience. And forgiveness. And perseverance.

These are a few of the reasons why they felt so welcome, accepted and cared for.

Now it is the young leaders turn to do the same.