Life Teen Leadership Conference Testimony

When the word “mystery” comes to mind, the average person usually thinks of a man in a trench coat sneaking around with a magnifying glass. That was my first image when I discovered that our Life Teen Leadership Conference in Kansas was titled “Behold the Mystery.” I thought we were going to try to break a code or find a hidden clue to make things easier, but I got the opposite.

For four days, nine teenagers from St Patrick’s Parish were in an auditorium with almost 500 other teens listening to Life Teen Core Members talk about how to become closer to God. Speakers told us that we needed to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, to admit our faults and sins, do what He wants, and to remove anyone or anything that prevents us from getting closer to Him. I sat with a notebook in hand; jotting down so much that not even this testimony could explain it all. No matter how much I wrote – no matter how much I gathered – I kept getting confused. Why is it so hard to understand God’s word? What does God want from me? Am I doing too much? Too little? How do I explain this to people back home?

After some of the sessions, the teens were asked to take a vow of silence and journal our thoughts. That’s a tough thing to do if you’re a talker like me, but I accepted the challenge. As I sat outside and looked over my notes, I noticed that my mind could finally wrap around what I wrote. It was difficult to accomplish, but I finally understood that God wanted me just to shut up and listen to what He had to say. He brought me to this conference for a reason, and that was to hear His word, and I can’t do that if I’m not paying attention to Him. All I have to do is close my mouth, sit still, and let God speak to me.

I guess beholding the mystery isn’t about solving anything at all. It’s about accepting the harder facts of life. We can’t run away because of lack of understanding. All we have to do is calm down and let God lead us. It may not be easy, but trust me; it all works out in the end. And you don’t need a magnifying glass to do it!

A million thanks to Scott and Natalie for taking me on this awesome conference. Along with Shannon, Becca, Emy, Nicole, Nico, Nick, Ian, and Kyle, you guys are my second family as well as my heroes. Thanks guys for supporting me through this journey. Thank you for reading. Peace!

Sarah Zorman