One night at club, Joe told me that he was no longer going to school. I asked him why and he told me he ended up too far behind in his studies during the Covid pandemic. I asked him what he was doing now, and he said, “Nothing.” He agreed to meet with me Monday morning to strategize and set up a plan to get back on track. Come Monday morning, no Joe. I texted, I called, I waited, but no Joe. A couple days later, I received a text from him. It read “Can you call me asap?” I didn’t reply. About an hour later, he called. I didn’t answer. My plan was to teach him a lesson by not answering his texts or calls and later at club, ask him how it felt. As I began to pray about it, the Lord gently whispered “That’s not the lesson I want you to teach him. I want you to teach him that when he lets you down, doesn’t answer your calls, and doesn’t show up, you will still always be there for him.” I returned his call and later that night, we had a great talk. He apologized for not showing up and rescheduled for the following Monday. I watched the clock anticipating Joe’s arrival, he came right on time. We talked about what he wanted to do in life, what motivates him, and what steps we could take to accomplish his goals. By the time the meeting ended, Joe had the opportunity to enroll in GED classes, one-to-one tutoring with a school counselor, and plans to start meeting with a musician that will teach him how to read music.

 

Building trust that leads to hope through relationship is what you are providing, being trustworthy people is who we are.