Meet the collegiate SHE: Katie Richardson. Katie has a true servan’t heart. (In the picture above, Katie is the girl standing to the far left in the black t-shirt!) I first met Katie for my youth group’s Disciple Now weekend and had the privilege of having her as my small group leader for the duration of the event. But even after the event ended, she has had a huge influence on the lives of the girls that she helped mentor, including me!
At Disciple Now, Katie became the “big sister” that I have never had! She shared stories of dating and friendships and gave advice about college and our relationship with God. But I think what I appreciate maybe the most about Katie came in a little note that she handed me after the event. She had taken the time to hand-write a personal note for each of her new “sisters” and mine had encouraging words that I will cherish for forever. Even after our weekend together, Katie has emailed me tips on college and sent me encouraging words that have helped make my days better!
Tonight I bet Katie was a bit surprised when she was almost trampled by six girls at youth group. You see, Katie came back to Ocala for the evening to help lead our service since our youth pastor was out of town. As the six of us stood around her I knew what we were all thinking, “Wow, God, thank you for putting Katie in our lives over our Disciple Now weekend. Please help us to become just a little bit more like her!” And what is it that we want to model? She is a different kind of SHE……..and that is what makes her stand out!
