This past weekend, I attended the first event of the New Year. There had been so much work and preparation on the part of the staff at Youth Encounter, the bands and speaker, the volunteer Event Planning Crew members who work on the details of the event throughout the year, small group leaders, adult leaders, youth groups and the fabulous hotel staff. However, with all the planning that goes into these events ahead of time, you always have to expect the unexpected.  In this case, our featured musicians, whose sound and production equipment we were to use for the event, had some vehicle problems and were not able to make it to the event until VERY early Saturday morning (for an event that started on a Friday night).  My immediate reaction (after being assured that none of them were hurt) was, “I didn’t expect this!” In spite of all the planning, this was one of those unexpected problems.  We rolled with it and the Captive Free team, as well as many of the Event Crew members and staff, made Friday night wonderful for the 650 youth and adults who were participating.  I know that God truly was in control that night.  Certainly nothing that we could have planned compared to God’s presence and the Spirit working and moving through the event that weekend. 
 
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that God is in control in our lives. Years ago I heard the saying, “Let Go and Let God.”  It’s only been in recent years that I believe I have begun to truly understand what that means.  It is at the times in our lives when we seem to have lost complete control that we truly are able to see the many wonders that God works in our lives and the lives of those around us.
 
To find out about Events in YOUR area, click on www.youthencounter.org/events/!