From the Me, to the We, to the One

A few words from Libby Morris

From the Me, to the We, to the One

As I stand up here today, I am an unfamiliar face to most. Unlike many of my peers in YMO, I am not an official “member” of Grace Church. So, you must be wondering, how did I get involved in YMO?

            About one year ago, after the YMO kids came back from missions in New Mexico, I met with one of my best friends, Laila Drury, youth rep extraordinaire, for dinner at a Thai restaurant to hear about the trip. As soon as she started talking about the trip, I was immediately jealous. At the time, I was in another youth group based out of a different church. I had been on two mission trips with that group before, but these trips seemed like nothing compared to what Laila and the YMO kids had just experienced. I wanted in.

            So, when it came time for the first YMO meeting of this year, Laila was really excited to take me. I can’t say the same for myself. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was excited to be in the youth group, but I was really nervous about meeting new people and whether or not I would be accepted.

            And boy, was that stupid. As soon as I walked into Father Chris’s house that night, I was accepted into the group. No question about it. Of course, it took time to really get to know everyone in the group, but from day one, I was always an integral part of YMO, just like every one of my peers.

            The whole year, Father Chris had been teaching us that we need to go from the “me” to the “we” to the “one.” This means instead of focusing on ourselves and instead of focusing on everyone in the group, we need to focus on coming together as one, harmonious body. And I think that to truly be able to make it to “the one,” acceptance is key. On our mission trip this past month exemplified YMO’s sense of “the one” and acceptance greatly. To just give you one example is an extremely hard task. It’s hard because the amount of love I saw within this group during missions is unbelievable. Completely unbelievable.

            First, I could tell you about the time when our coach bus got stuck in the sand in the middle of the desert. I personally wasn’t there, but everyone who was there did everything in their power to help. And I mean everything. People were using their hardhats to scoop sand out from under the wheels and others were just trying to stay calm. Finally, a couple of huge trucks serendipitously showed up and were able to help pull the bus out of the sand.

 A true act of God. But really, helping the bus out of trouble was a huge act of “the one,” which wouldn’t have been possible without accepting each other for our individual strengths.

            Or, I could tell you about the life-changing experience we all had on Wednesday night. Father Chris took us into the canyon right behind St. Christopher’s mission to show us an “energy vortex:” a place where God’s energy on earth is overwhelmingly palpable. As soon as we entered the canyon, we were silent. There was no need to talk to each other. We sat on a formation of rocks deep inside the canyon to meditate, to become one with God and each other. 

This experience is completely indescribable. I know this may sound contrived, but I really figured myself out during this time; we were so in tune with nature we didn’t even realize we were in tune with each other. When the meditation period was over and we were back at the mission, we all looked at the bright moon and subconsciously held hands with each other. No directions were given to do this. We, as one, felt so connected, so in-sync with each other. Without even thinking twice, we silently accepted each other right then and there.

            I wish I could go back to that night, I wish I could experience that feeling again. But, I know I will. With this group, anything of that caliber is possible again. This year has been a year that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I was a junior in high school this year, aka the hardest year of high school, and I really do believe that YMO was the reason I was able to stay sane. I know I’m not alone in saying that missions this year was one of the best weeks of my life, although I was very excited to take a long shower to get the sand off my body as soon as I got home.

Looking back to the beginning of the year, I can’t believe that I was ever without this group; I can’t believe that I was once a “new” member. Father Chris has always made a big deal about the fact that there are never “new” people in the group. We have always been a part of this group, whether we were aware of it or not. It was always God’s plan for me and my peers to join this group, and it’s in His plan for more people to become part of the “one” that we all so greatly cherish.

Libby Moris