The Right Time

By Tommy Coutu, Sophomore at St. Columba's

This weekend I attended the Diocesan Youth Day Retreat at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta with over 200 people from around the diocese. In the week before I was coming off easily the worst week of my life which included a bad breakup and a hospital visit. Then you add school to that mix and it just broke me down to my lowest point ever. 

The morning of the day retreat I was driving my new pride and joy of a truck down to Atlanta. All I was thinking was that I hope this can pick me up. I shouldn't have just had some hope because I should've known some of my favorite people in the world would do what they can to pick me up. Within an hour of being there I had already talked to at least half the people there just to catch up because I get the feelings of missing camp at least once a week. And already I had forgotten about all the pain I had felt. I just loved all the community of people there. 

I loved getting to play my guitar and look out and see that many people at the event. It just filled me with so much joy. And then in the end getting to do service by making sandwiches still made me happy because I love service.

In the end I realized how much community can help you as a person and also just to make you feel better. Having a loving community in my life is something I hold close to my heart because I know I'll always have family in the Episcopal and Happening communities. I know that no matter what I go through there will always be someone to pick me up and they know that I would do the same for any of them. Serving the community together as a whole brings us all closer together and that's something I want to do for the rest of my life.