Letter from the Director - Summer 2022
God is at work at Harvey Cedars like I haven’t seen in a long time. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are worried and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I sense that people need God more than ever. Our culture is overwhelmed with mental health issues. Teens are fighting isolation, anxiety, and depression like never before. Drug use is at an all-time high, and suicide is touching so many families. Our nation has just established a suicide hotline, 988, like the emergency line 911. We have seen God working in the lives of teenagers with so many of these issues. Also, we don’t even realize the full extent of the “long haul” issues of COVID.
I find that most people are not happy, and that plays out by not being nice to those around them. Teenagers have been affected in a deeper way, in my opinion—what the cell phone did to self-esteem and increased isolation, COVID has magnified and made unbearably worse. The only answer to these questions is found in the gospel. In Genesis, we read we are created in God’s image, and we have worth, value, and purpose. God tells us we are worth something. That we are of such value that he was willing to sacrifice his only son, so that we could become his children and part of his family. It is important that we see ourselves through God’s eyes instead of the world’s eyes or the eyes of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This summer, we have seen so many students find hope, value, perspective, and healing. Would you pray that God continues to transform the lives of teenagers and adults in a mighty way at Harvey Cedars?
Sincerely,
Jonathan Oldham