I wish you could have been there.
Because I can give you photos, and I can give you descriptions, but I can’t give you their hugs, their smiles, and their unfettered joy.
And that’s what I want you to feel. That’s what I want the world to understand. So I’m going to do my best to take you there.
Got your dancing shoes on?
Let’s go.
Everyone knows, when it’s time for prom, you need a bit of the princess treatment. A fancy new dress. Someone to do your hair. Someone to apply your make-up.
You need to feel as beautiful as you are.
You need sparkles and curls, tulle and shimmery satin. And you need your friends. (Because being a princess can be intimidating.)
But then you’re ready, and it’s time to go, and right outside there’s a big party bus and enough friends to make even the shyest princess brave. Super fun prom times, here we come!
When you arrive there are red carpets and flashing cameras, boutonnieres for the men and lots more friends. A star-studded walk of fame leads to decorated tables and food served by people who love you with every affectionate look and kind word, and now you know — if you ever doubted it at all — that tonight is going to be magic.
Before dinner is over, you hear the music pulsing in the next room. Your feet are itching to move (and maybe you even start dancing right there in your chair, but we’ll just keep that a secret), and then the doors open and the real party begins.
Flashing lights and flying confetti. Loud music and arms raised high. A DJ that takes requests (even when the request is “Bare Necessities”), and always lots and lots of friends.
There are wheelchairs and walkers on the dance floor. Friends starting conga lines. Friends singing way too loud. Friends who wouldn’t know how to find a beat if it jumped up and bit them in the nose. It’s a swirling mass of happy, somewhat controlled chaos.
I’m sure there have been plenty of proms with more elegance, more sophistication, and much more self-importance, but I dare you to find one anywhere with more real fun, real joy, and real honest-to-goodness friendship.
Of course, all parties must eventually come to an end. The clock strikes midnight (or, in this case, 8:00 PM), and it’s time to go home.
But the friendship? Oh, it keeps going strong. Because that’s what Young Life Capernaum is all about. It’s about belonging, and being enough just the way you are. It’s acceptance and celebration and the simple truth that you are loved — eternally and perfectly loved — by a good God who made you and delights in you. You matter in His kingdom.
It’s the kind of pure and uncomplicated friendship we all long for.
As the song says,
“Don’t spend your time lookin’ around
For something you want that can’t be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin’ about it
I’ll tell you something true
The bare necessities of life will come to you.”
Young Life Capernaum brings the bare necessities — the simple, wonderful, life-affirming bare necessities of friendship, purpose, and truth — to some of the most beautiful people on the planet.
Maybe the princess requested the best song after all.
Could you use more joy in your life? We are always looking for leader volunteers. If you love Jesus, you have the most important qualification. Everything else falls into place as you get to know our friends. For more information on Young Life Capernaum and how you can get involved in your area, click here.
The View From Here 