Fear Is A Liar

There are some things that you try to block from your memory.
Things that are so painful that it shakes you at your core and makes you question everything. I had this happen to me 20 years ago. I was a youth pastor at a small local church in Michigan. It was my first job/church out of college. This particular Sunday we had a parent visit us during our Sunday school hour. Not just any parent, but a parent who was a long standing member and one of the deacons. To say I was nervous was an understatement.
We worked through the lesson I had worked hard on that week and thought it went as well as it could have gone. We finished Sunday school and sat through the church service. After church got over, I stayed around to talk to the kids and other adults. Once we were finished talking and ready to head out, I looked up and noticed that this parent was making his way up to me from the back of the church.
I don’t know what I expected to hear. But what he said destroyed me. “Todd, I feel like God is telling me that you need to quit. Your message was awful. I just don’t think He’s going to use you as a youth pastor.” Then he walked away.
I stood there alone. Crushed. I wish I could tell you that I called him a week later to remind him that we took over a youth group that had five kids and built it up to over 65 kids in a matter of a year. I wish I could tell you that I called him up to remind him of the kids we built relationships with, some of whom we ended up having contact with for over ten years.
I didn’t. The words he spoke to me shook me to my core.
I wish I could say that was the only time I came across someone who has spoken words of hate and hurt to me. But it’s not. And I’m sure there are a few of you that can relate.
Or maybe you can relate to this story. I struggled with self confidence about my weight growing up. When you hear about a story of a kid growing up struggling with weight issues, you might think of a kid who might be massively overweight. You see, for me, I was super skinny… tiny… not strong… sometimes Skeletor-like.
Little League Dugout (See photo in blog post)
This is a photo of me when I was about 12 years old (I’m the one on the left.) My nickname on my high school baseball team was Keebler… you know, like Keebler the elf. Growing up a super skinny kid was just as hard as growing up as an overweight kid. I wish I could say that being made fun of didn’t affect me. But it did. And I’m sure there are a few of you that can relate.
Maybe you’ve been exactly where I am… either as a kid or as an adult. And whether you have or you haven’t, I want you to see this because it has the power to change your life… check it out:
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16
For the remainder of the written blog, you can find it at www.toddruth.com
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Thank you for checking out our family channel. We're a family of four that lives in northern Indiana. For 23 years I’ve worked with students and families in some form or another… as a student pastor, juvenile probation officer, director of a Boys and Girls Club, and I currently have my own teenagers (did I just say that? I have teenager(s)… not just one, but two!?) During those 23 years it was always my goal to help students find Jesus, find what they’re gifted in and run with it. It’s what makes my heart beat fast. It’s one of the things I still love to do. Deep down, my heart beats to help people… to help people find and grow in their relationship with Jesus, and to help families connect to each other and Jesus together. Jami is the communications director at Granger Community Church. Todd also writes and produces content and videos for toddruth.com. We're looking forward to sharing our life with you guys on the Ruth Family vlog channel.
We have lots of laughs and love adventures, even if it's sometimes only in our backyard. We'll be open and honest as we share our life journey with you guys in our family vlog. Look for a new family vlog every Saturday morning! We hope you tag along. #familyvloggers #familyvlog #familychannel #bible