Leave Them in Awe
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The View from Clingman's Dome
Teens Today Rarely Experience Awe - But They Need To!
Hi everyone! Please stick with me through this one. :)
I returned late Saturday night from a 22-person family vacation to Tennessee. While I had previously driven through the Great Smoky Mountains, I had never experienced them. Other than spending time with family, the view from Clingman's Dome was my favorite part of the trip...
At camp in early July, I went with one of the cabins to the observation deck late at night to look at the stars. The campers laid on their backs and looked up, in awe of the night sky and watching for shooting stars (and, of course, Starlink)...
When I was growing up, my parents had a cottage on Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in New York. There were so many nights I'd lay on the dock and just look at the stars for what seemed like hours, interrupted only by my mom making sure I hadn't fallen asleep and wasn't going to accidentally roll off the dock into the lake (very mom-ish, right?)...
Next month, I will lead an annual weeklong 8th grade class trip to Cape Cod. One night we will silently watch a sunset together. After it gets completely dark, we will go to another beach and spend 30 minutes under the stars, separated several yards from each other with no phones, no flashlights, and only the sound of the waves crashing ashore. This year we will likely see the full moon rise over the ocean as well. If you ask students from past years about their favorite part of the trip, most of them will say that 30 minutes of silence at the ocean under the stars...
What makes these moments so powerful and so memorable? They are moments of awe - times when God seems so big, and we seem so small. As Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Romans 1:20 states, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
The views from Clingman's Dome left me wondering, "How often do kids and teens today experience awe like this? Are their time and focus consumed by so many other things that they rarely, if ever, experience a sense of awe - where God is big and they are small?" We all need times like that when we're not focused on ourselves and our own little worlds (where we are big and God is small). Awe points us outward.
What YOU Can Do to Help Kids and Teens Experience Awe
Whether you're a parent, grandparent, or mentor, take young people places where awe is the natural response. The mountains, the ocean, the lake... it doesn't matter, just get them there - even if it's just for a sunset or for 30 minutes looking at the stars.
Be intentional. We're all "too busy," so if we're not intentional, it won't happen.
Remember that the night can be at least as beautiful and awe-inspiring as anything during the daytime. Even if you're not a night owl, do it for them.
Set aside time to be STILL and SILENT. They can do it when they are given expectations. 25-35 8th graders are silent for 5-10 minutes when we watch the sunset, and they're silent for the full 30 minutes at the ocean. With their ever-present phones, teens don't get much time to think, so we need to provide that time for them and teach them how to do it well.
Remember, they may not want to do it. That's ok, because they'll be thankful later.
Debrief afterwards. On Cape Cod, the 8th graders stand in a circle at the end of the time and have the opportunity to share what they were thinking about. It's sometimes very powerful and it's a great bonding time. Be willing to speak first.