To pray for youth is to pray for the lonely and abandoned that are in every single household in America and around the world.  If you want to know what loneliness is like, walk into a high school. 

• In every school, there are the obvious misfits, the ones that people worry about, or label as being “different”.  There are the girls who sit alone and cry during lunch, the boys who brood silently, the punks and Goths, and the gangs that control the night streets- even in many parts of Ventura County.  Some of these kids are the victims and perpetrators of the Columbines and Virginia Techs.  Most kids will never get to this point of desperation, most kids feel their loneliness in quiet ways.

But look a little closer at the “perfect kids” or the “normal kids.”

• Look for the girls who could not afford the Juicy Couture brand gym socks or the Coach totes to carry their books. 
• Look for the only five boys in the entire freshmen class who could not even try out for the football team, let alone make the varsity, JV, or even freshmen team. 
• Look for the cheerleader who was injured at practice and is now abandoned by her “friends” from the squad.
• Look for the honors student who got cut from AP Biology because he got a “B”.
• Look for the peer minister or leader who got caught with a beer in her hand at a weekend party.
• Look at the quiet boy who sneaks out to the back of the school to smoke weed during passing periods just to get through the day.
• Look at the class president who carries a razor blade with her and cuts her arms in the bathroom at lunch. 

They all want to feel wanted, accepted, and affirmed.  They are all searching for meaning and a sense of purpose in their lives.  How do we walk with the youth in this stage?  How do we help them live in the questions?  And embrace the gray areas of life?

This poem was written by a student while looking out at the high school quad area.
            The courtyard is filled with teenagers,
            Fake smiles, fake friendships
            They are everywhere
            Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors,
            Jocks, preps, freaks, geeks,
            There is no exception to the rule
            All desperately wanting to feel wanted,
            To feel needed, included, loved
            Do you not realize this is pointless?
            That all the empty phrases,
            All the fake hugs and hellos are worthless?
            That will never satisfy their longing.

There is a very countercultural theory in sociology that youth are actually craving meaningful interaction with adults.  That they create their subcultures not because they do not want to be near adults, but because for a variety of reasons they have felt let down or even abandoned by the people in their lives who they expected to protect them, support them, and love them- parents, coaches, teachers, and relatives who diminished their self-esteem and self-worth, broke their dreams, or were simply a poor example to them.  We are all gathered here today as people of prayer, faith, and Spirit.  As pastors, educators, parents, community leaders, neighbors, relatives, and friends- we all come in contact with young people. 

In my work with both high school and university students, I have found that youth are looking for is someone who challenges and supports them, someone who walks with them without telling them what to do or trying to change or judge them. As much as they do not want to be told they CANNOT do something or be someone, they also do not want to be let loose with no direction or guidance. 

The youth of today are filled with more potential, training, life experiences, and skills than ever before.  They have received extensive education, attended camps, played sports, been in clubs, and gone to youth groups and church retreats.  Their lives are filled to the brim with experiences and learning opportunities.  As models of faith in their lives, we are asked to witness to the integration of all these values and ideas and to be their companions and guides as they explore for themselves how God is calling them to live and be. 

The following prayer by Thomas Merton can be imagined as a conversation between a high school student and God.  Try to imagine an actual student you know speaking these words.  Be in solidarity with his or her questions and ask God for the grace to support and walk with this student in whatever way you can as they embrace the uncertainties and the gray, liminal space of their adolescence.  I invite you to listen to the hope for a better world, the deep desire to give and receive love, and the underlying trust, the feeling that even in the uncertainties, God is still walking beside them.

WHERE I AM GOING
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.