27 Hours

We get off the bus, Out of the van, We see people we know, Youth groups from last year. Potential friends. Fellow followers. We shuffle through the doors, Along the concourse, D o w n The stairs and to our seats. Hearts racing, palms sweating. Mouths moving, but no noise escapes. We're too excited. 27 hours. The lights go d o w n and the speakers turn on. The yells get louder. The shrieks higher. And it starts. We rush to the front. We know what's coming. The band's playing. 27 hours. Alter call's next. We brace ourselves. It's useless. We worship, we cry. Emotions we haven't felt in a while come flooding back, It's a mess. A beautiful, organized mess. We stand and proclaim, "Jesus, capture my heart. We need you. We love you. We will follow you." 27 hours The event ends and we leave, But we're not the same, We will never be the same. We are the youth of today. 27 hours and our lives are changed forever. New lives are being lived. We are Christians, And we will not back d o w n. We are young and old, Men and women, Students and leaders, But we're all the same. We all experienced God's presence. We are Christ's followers. And nothing can change that.