We have a young man in high school who attends the Kids Club here at Willow Pond. This young man accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior a few months ago. He has a true hunger to know more about what it means to be a child in the Kingdom of God.
One day, I heard it was his birthday and I asked him what he was doing for his special day. His response shocked me: "nothing."
I asked him, "If you had a party, what would you want?"
"Ice cream and cake," he said.
Suzanne and I decided to get him just that.
For his party we invited some of the guys at Willow Pond to join in on the festivities. We sang happy birthday as he waited to blow out his candles. Before opening up his gift we went around the table and everyone told this young man what we appreciated about him. One of the young men there, (who has made a drastic change in his own life) said, "I appreciate you because you are a true friend and you keep me out of trouble."
Afterwards the young man opened up his gift: a brand new football with a pump and tee. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and enjoying each others company.
There something to be said about a celebration. This celebration was acknowledgement of one young mans life and it's impact on those around him.
-- Rickey Fanning
