Love endures

​It's been over 20 years since I got that phone call, but I remember it well. At the time I knew the call impacted me. Today, I know it helped me understand life in ways I never would have without it.

The young man's name was Will. Will was 12 when I first met him; he was 17 the day he called me.

In many ways, Will was the reason I decided to work with kids. I met him when I visited the program I'd eventually work at. At the time, he was as difficult a young man to understand and be around as any person I'd ever met. I was going to take that job and help Will.

I was determined to make Will my "if I only change one life it will be worth it" kid.

I spent a year working with Will. The day he left I remember thinking "well, that didn't go so well." When I first met Will I thought he was the devil's child. After working with him a year, and watching him only get worse, I decided I was wrong. This was not the devil's child. This was the devil himself.

When Will walked out the door of our program I considered him my biggest failure ever. I came to work with Will, and nothing I tried worked.

Nearly 5 years later, I was sitting in the office when I got a call from Will. I hadn't heard from him since he left. Eventually I'd quit beating myself up over not saving him and had long forgotten him.

Will was on a payphone outside of a detention center in Florida. He'd just been released after spending some significant time there. He told me, "I don't have much time, but I needed you to be my first call when I got out. I know you think I didn't listen to you all those years ago, but I did. The last couple of years I've thought about every word you said when we were together. I'm going to change now."

Will hung up. To this day, I've never heard from him again.

Before that call, I would have needed to hear from him. I would have needed to know if he'd changed. After that call, I was reminded that we have no idea, many times, if what we are doing is working. We just have to have faith what we're doing is somehow going to last.

The bible says that love..

Bears all things. Believes all things. Endures all things.

The bible says that love never fails.

Sometimes, we are too "what are you doing for me now" about our love to see that it endures further and longer than we know. Sometimes we are too worried figuring out if loved worked to know that the purpose of love isn't to work, it's to help us bear things and believe things and help us endure through all things.

It's about planting something in someone's life that will never fail. It's a way of living on in someone's life long after you think you didn't make a difference in their life at all.

There are a lot of days I pick up the phone and I call Jesus. I say to him, I know it's been 2000 years since you were here. And I know you probably think I don't listen to a word you said. I just need you to know that I do. I have heard every word. I need you to know I'm trying to change.

I want you to know most days it probably looks like your love didn't work in me. But I want you to know, Jesus, your love has lasted.

Because it did, I want mine to last as well.