Vulnerability - Hearts on Fire Sermon Story

Hey everybody! My name is Rennie Taylor. My heart is burning; this is my story.

Vulnerability is a really scary concept, at least to me. The idea of putting yourself out there for everyone to see, to analyze, to scrutinize- honestly, it terrifies me. Especially for someone who actually enjoys risks as much as I do, I can’t stand risking someone figuring me out before I figure myself out. However, in the two weeks I spent in South Dallas and Chicago I met hundreds of little boys and girls who had no choice but to be vulnerable. They don’t have the luxury of being able to “figure themselves out” or “find their own way in life”, because as far as any of them were concerned, their surroundings labeled who they were and what their lives meant the day they were born. I don’t have a specific story to tell, or amazing moment when I experienced god to describe to you. Mainly because I don’t know how to describe an ongoing moment. God is a constant presence, and I know he was at the sites and with the kids long before we were. I hope God was shining through me on the mission trip, but I know for a fact that he was shining through every one of the kids that we worked with. And it doesn’t matter that we can’t technically say God’s name at the site, because I don’t believe to accomplish my mission I needed to. And that’s what I want to talk about today: my mission. My mission was not to convert or to preach, but to show the kids that no matter who they are, where hey come from, or how impossibly unfair their lives are, God has one incredible plan for them, something they cant even imagine, and with his guidance they can break away from anything that’s holding them back and truly do something amazing with their lives. It was my mission to convey to them that dreaming or having goals that went beyond the hole that they were born into was not only okay, but actually filled with possibilities. My entire life I have been bombarded with those nagging, annoying questions like WHAT DO YOU WANT OT BE WHEN YOU GROW UP, or WHAT COLLEGE DO YOUI WANT OT GO TO; WHAT DOES YOUR FUTURE LOOK LIKE? I’ve never had an answer to any of those questions because there are so many possibilities and infinite opportunities, how could I possibly pick just one plan without exploring all the rest? But the kids I bonded with the last two weeks also didn’t have an answer to those questions, but for a completely different reason. No one asks them those questions, and if someone did they would soon have a young child staring blankly back at them, confused by the idea of having a choice of what their lives will play out to be. And I hate that. I found myself not sad at the end as we loaded the bus to go home for good, but really angry that we were leaving. This youth does an incredible thing for two weeks out of the year, but what happens the other fifty weeks to these kids? I wanted to leave them with something more than just love- as important as that is- my mission was to leave them with a sense of wonder, a freedom to imagine all the different directions in which each one of their lives could play out. And although I would be lying if I stood up here and told you I came back from mission trip spiritually charged, I can tell you that the kids I met in South Dallas and Chicago are not broken-they are so wonderfully vulnerable and truly amazing human beings that are meant for greatness. And if I was able to help even one child recognize that potential and have the courage to not only dream, but to fulfill their dreams, then I did my job. I let God do his job through me. I succeeded in my mission. Thank you.