Megan's prayer: Mary Mary's "Wade in the Water"

I stepped in water and the water is cold...
... Said it chilled my body but not my soul.

Replace "stepped" with "jumped" and you have a scene from 3 of the previous LifeTeen retreats I went on, both as teen and as CORE member. I both love and hate the annual Polar Bear Plunge. I can't stand it because the water is freezing, I get all wet and cold, I smell, and I have to shower. Those are just not my favorite things to do!

At the same time, I love this jump. I love the connection I felt with the other teens and the CORE member the first time I did it. I wasn't a very outgoing teen on the retreat, yet for some crazy reason I agreed to jumping in a cold lake. But it gave me that story - that connection - with people I didn't know very well. And that story, that connection, grew into friendships on more than one account.

Although today I'm no longer the teen, but rather the CORE member, I still make the jump. I still encourage all the teens - especially the shy ones like myself - to jump in. It absolutely freezes your body, but afterwards, your spirit is definitely alive. It may seem silly, but it brings me closer to others.