This tricky situation turned into a teachable moment. One night I was driving a handful of 71Five students home when we were stopped by a police officer. The officer was understanding and courteous, but some of the students wanted to make comments after the officer pulled away. I heard comments like, “they’re wasting our time” and “they have nothing better to do. When I was about to interrupt and tell them how the officer was doing his job, one of students mentioned his uncle was a local police officer and he wondered if the two cops knew each other. I asked what it was like and he said, “It’s cool mostly, but it can be scary sometimes.” The van went quiet for a few seconds before we talked some more. It was the right time to open their eyes to what it means to lay your life down. Each of the students shared how someone sacrificed for them, and a newfound appreciation came to light.

 

Even in the tricky situations, God shows up to teach. If you are the officer from that night, thank you for providing the opportunity for a teachable moment… And if you’re a 71Five donor, thank you for providing the funding to create safe space for these opportunities… for God to show up!