One particular moment during this summer happened at the end of the second week of the LIT (Leaders in Training) program. We have been going through the BLESS rhythm [Begin with Prayer, Listen, Eat, Serve, and Share your story & the story of Jesus] and finished talking about Begin with Prayer, where we discussed the Lord’s prayer & Psalm 23. I asked a few of the students if they had a takeaway from what they learned throughout the week. One of those students told me that his takeaway was “that God is always there.” This particularly stuck out to me as it was a very unique conclusion to the overall topic of that week.

This is seen in what we read in the Bible that day during Faith Focus – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

While we had learned how and what to pray for during that week, this young man was able to see the most important part of prayer: that God is with us. That student’ takeaway for the week had impacted my faith and my approach to prayer; what and how you pray is not as important as who you are praying to. I also have seen the interns and students live that statement out. This year of LIT has been different than any other year, and it was on Zoom for a couple of weeks due to concerns about COVID-19. This family has pushed through the hardships and has kept thriving, knowing that God is always there.