crossing paths and planting seeds: the story of maria & riley

riley & maria

Maria Tessin and Riley Robinson’s strikingly similar faces met mine from across the table in the coffee shop. Side-by-side, they matched a certain air, like they were anticipating a joke. It all finally made sense to me. They could’ve been sisters in another life.

maria

Fifteen-year-old Maria was less than thrilled to be back in Michigan. A southern girl at heart, she didn’t understand why she would ever need to leave the haven in which she found herself, friends, faith… It was all born in North Carolina. Except her.

Being the youngest of three siblings has taught her about flexibility. But this was different. She was sure that nothing could top her adolescence in Charlotte. Certainly God wouldn't think to whisk her away after five years, back to the place that bore her private Catholic school days.

“I was very rooted in North Carolina,” she reminisced. “[When I moved to Michigan], I was uprooted. I had to transport back to my 10-year-old sized roots because I had grown up here.”

She always says that moving south was the best thing that ever happened to her. Alas, her settled security was exchanged for a hearty dose of sophomore year anxiety. Her dad got the job transfer, and there was nothing that she could do about it. Only God.

riley

Riley was the youngest too. She was easy-going (like I said, very similar), along with a good dose of independence with her sister being born a whole decade earlier.

Her dad’s job transfer led her back to Michigan from North Carolina, (that’s right, Michigan, North Carolina, Michigan, dad’s job… you get the point).

Leaving behind Hillsborough prompted her to ask herself anxiety-ridden questions regarding the faith that she had built in the south.

Would it survive moving across state lines?

Was it built off of the backs of her family and friends?

Would she be able to uphold the weight herself or could only God do such a thing?

“The move here was really difficult for me,” Riley said. “But I feel like I got to know God better because it was just me and Him.”

maria

Due to her move being the catalyst that caused her ineligibility to play basketball for the upcoming season, Maria quickly discovered that her athletic career would need to be put on hold. Without the sport that she holds so dear, Maria decided it was time to plant new roots elsewhere. She soon discovered Young Life for the very first time, a ministry dedicated to fostering a Christ-centered community. It was here that she found a new kind of beauty and appreciation in others.

“I feel like I’ve grown in a way where when I look at people I’m just learning to see the way God sees them more,” she said. “I feel like I can lead by example in how I carry myself and in the way I love and care for these people.”

As fate would have it, she would also come to know a cheery blonde by the name of Riley Robinson. Serendipitously, Maria's initial acquaintance with Riley was solely built off of their uncanny physical similarities, but their bond couldn’t help but blossom into a magnetic friendship built on a relationship with Christ. A friendship they now recognize could’ve never come to be in North Carolina.

riley

Riley’s mom emailed the Young Life director, Jared and before she knew it she would be dropped off at her very first meeting. She had known about the ministry growing up, but never felt super connected before. Now, here she sat, in the backyard of a stranger’s house in the heart of mid-Michigan. She didn’t know a soul, but something about it felt like home. A different kind of home from the one she had just departed from.

Much to her surprise, she was also met with an unfamiliar, yet familiar face.

Riley and Maria not only bonded over the similar time frames that they resided in North Carolina, but would also relate on trivial matters down to their common distaste for ranch. 

They brought out a childlike joy in one another. Nearly a year and a half later, and this bright zeal still exists within each of them. It wasn’t difficult for me to see the effortless display from across the table at the coffee shop.

“I feel like we can laugh about anything but we can also be serious,” Riley said. “We have serious conversations and give advice to each other and I really like that.”

maria

Not only did Maria meet friendships from her time at Young Life, but she would also acquire unique leadership opportunities as a junior leader for the program’s summer camps. Just last summer, she took a trip to Missouri to serve throughout the summer. Maria found this opportunity taught her about how to best minister to people of varying levels of faith.

She said: “The way we plan things with Young Life is very intentional with looking at our audience and deciding how we want to best care for these people.”

riley

Now a sophomore in high school, Riley has worked to display more of her personality at school. Through working on the yearbook staff and finding a place on the school’s pom team, she finds great importance in how her countenance impacts other people in her day-to-day life.

“[When I moved], I had to accept that I’m now here in Michigan and decide to just keep going,” Riley said. “That reminds me that I’m here for a reason…There are communities all around, you just have to look for them and find them.”

Riley is now also a junior leader at Young Life, walking alongside and ministering to other students finding their place in the kingdom of God.

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“I have this God-sized hole in my heart,” Tessin said. “I can try to fill it with whatever I want, but God’s the only thing that’s really going to fill it… I’m learning how to lean on Him to provide for me and to fill me with joy and peace because as soon as I waver from that, I experience ill-emotions…[When I lean on God] I just feel so much stronger.”

Looking back on their transition, both girls can clearly see how the Lord directed their steps during a difficult season of life. Today, Riley and Maria are learning exponentially more about what it means to rely on God when circumstances outside of one's control tries to steal their joy. Their friendship is a prime example of what it looks like to trust that God has you exactly where you need to be. When it once felt as though they were entering a drought with their move to the Midwest, they actually discovered that God was, indeed, planting new seeds every step of the way. Riley and Maria, in fact, were that reminder for each other.