By: Cecilia F.
I have two favourite days for work: One is Wednesday because I spend the morning at St. Jude’s food bank. The other day is Thursday because I spend the evening with the Hubsters, a Victoria Village youth group. Hubsters is comprised of youth from middle school and high school in the Victoria Village area. They gather once a week to hang out and cook, but they also help organize and volunteer for events that occur at the Hub. Frankly, I was quite worried when I knew I was going to be helping out with a youth group. Maybe they were going to be too cool for me and wouldn’t want to hang out with me. Perhaps we wouldn’t get along and would have nothing to talk about. However, the youth and I have now developed a stable friendship and Thursday nights are one of my favourite times of the week.
I have many fond memories with each of the youth. Some of the younger boys are always so cheerful and will laugh at the simplest things. They also always fight each other to carry the box of groceries from No Frills back to the Hub (which pleasantly surprised me but I also never understood this). Although the girls tend to be a bit quieter than the boys, I have come to appreciate their consistent attendance and for taking care of the programs they help run for the Hubsters. And while the older boys are quite different from the girls, when they come, there is always more laughter and happy times with the group. The youth although are often older than the other kids I take care of, still seem to exhibit childlike qualities.
Hanging around with the youth more has reminded me of why in the Bible, God wants us to be like little children. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you change and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” God wants us to be like children and have childlike submissiveness, meekness, a gleeful heart, and childlike faith. Although Hubsters is a non-faith based group, the youth’s childlike qualities often remind me of why Jesus insisted that if we don’t become like children, we’ll never really know Him. Reflecting on this, I admit that sometimes I let my pride get in the way of things. I often forget that instead of relying on myself, I can rely on God who gives me strength and guides me to do the right things. Children tend to be innocent, trusting, joyful, humble, and have huge faith. Jesus calls us to have this type of faith and trust in our Father and in His Word, and to be open to His love and commandments.