Confirmands, What's Not to Love?!

One of our finest church matriarchs told me last week that she learned something about me recently.  I shuddered wondering if my slip had been showing... but no, it was something else.

"Every year you say the same thing about our Calvary confirmation students.  You come into our prayer meetings telling us how amazing they are, how wonderful they are, and how you can see God working in their young lives.  You say it every year... doesn't matter who is in the group (like one of my grandsons) but you mean it. (dramatic nod for emphasis) and I have decided that that is about you." 

Never been accused of love before- especially on Valentine's Day!

I do love confirmands!  I cannot help it.  It is within me to love them more and more every year.  I do think they are amazing and I see their God-potential to achieve awesome things for God and to love God in awesome ways. 

I've tried not liking them.  Or at least not loving them as much...but I simply can't do anything but love them.  Here's why... they help me see God...

In our class this year there are 21 students; 12 boys and 9 girls.  They represent six different schools (public and private).  Two of them have experienced adoption.  All of them have been baptized (first time in a decade when all our students were baptized as children/infants).  All of them are living with only two parents (first time in over a decade when all of the students have had only two parents and not three or four parents who are sharing custody). 

Our confirmands are musicians, athletes, artists, dancers, writers, poets, scientists, collectors, students and so on.  They are funny, brilliant, quirky, smart, sassy, clever, honest, and spiritual.

Most of all I love them because they are trying to make sense of the faith their parents have been giving them for the past 12 or 13 years.. and figure out what that means for them (at this stage in their lives).  And I remember what that was like for me and how important it was that someone "loved me through figuring out my faith for myself".

Accuse me all day long, but yes, I love confirmands!