"Who wants to be a billionaire?" Love Tanks

Love Tanks is always one of my favorite Young Life nights of the whole semester. A tradition that's become something so many of us look forward to, the premise is simple. Each of us has a "tank" inside of us that is filled by the love of others and is the place where our own love spills over into other's lives. We're called to encourage and build others up and this is one way that we practice that calling. Tonight so many friends showed up early, pens in hand, ready to start writing early. Some people bring a small stack of pre-written notes because they want to be proactive. We love love.

Earlier today I was thinking about the last time we did this, the end of last school year just before summer. At that time, Young Life was full of a huge Senior class, a group of girls that had become dear friends who were the main characters of that semester for me. Today I was really missing them and their presence. Little did I know that tonight Katie and Ashley, two of those girls, would surprise me and walk through the door. I was elated to see them and get to spend one more Love Tank night together.

While looking through the #younglife on Instagram I stumbled across someone pretty incredible. BC Serna (@bc_serna) is a Story Teller, Activist, Film Maker, Youth Speaker, World Traveler and YL Leader. Look through a few of his pictures and videos and you can't help but fall in love with him. One of his writings got me thinking. You know how people often say, "Someday I hope I can change just one person's life"? I think that's setting our sights awfully low. Tonight I watched a room full of people each impact a dozen people's lives. BC has a better way of thinking...

"The next definition of a billionaire is not one who has a billion dollars, but one who has positively affected the lives of a billion people. Where wealth are smiles of Joy, investment is radical love, retirement are these memories of purpose, currency is giving of time and financial freedom is to live free of financial mindset. Setting out to make money will leave you unsatisfied and alone, setting out to make an impact will leave you fulfilled and driven. Who wants to be a billionaire? How many lives can we positively impact in our lifetime?"

Tonight as we wrote our love tank notes we were investing that radical love, paying forward encouragement, gratitude and hope. Watching a room full of teenagers furiously write these kind of notes is one of the most beautiful things to witness. There is something so valuable in learning to love and having the grace to be loved in return. Receiving and giving love are both important, both humbling, both full of joy.

Everyone that gathered tonight can say that they've changed the life of more than one person. We're working on becoming billionaires one person--with one note, one act of love, one hug, one kind word-- at a time.

I'm so thankful for these people, a community that is passionate about loving each other well and pointing back to Christ with our stories. Thank you to all of the people that filled up my love tank tonight. You each mean so much to me.