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The Legacy of My Young Life Leader
By April McCotter
jul. 21, 2020
The story that follows is that of Patsy and Sally. Sally was Patsy’s Young Life leader in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Recently, Patsy got the opportunity to visit her high school Young Life leader from over 60 years ago!
According to Patsy, “While visiting my sister, Wendy, in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to connect with my Young Life leader from my senior year in high school. Prior to this, the last time I had seen Sally Cheyney was 25 years ago in Pittsburgh. It was so amazing to see the vitality and the Christian witness of this woman who had served Young Life so well for 13 years, and then continued a life of ministry with other organizations as a dean of women and in other capacities. I remember one snowy night when Sally got in a car accident and broke her neck. During her recovery over many months at Bryn Mawr Hospital, where
she was in traction and in a body cast, I had the opportunity to visit her and observe the vitality of her faith. During our visit, Sally recalled that time and said, ‘God doesn’t waste anything. He used my experience of being in the hospital for three months with a broken C2 to bring a couple of my roommates to the Lord.’”
In Patsy’s own assessment, “I was an impressionable young believer, and Sally's witness was my anchor. During each visit to the hospital, Sally modeled authentic faith grounded in the grace and peace Jesus brings in all circumstances. Perhaps God used the seeds of Sally’s suffering and accident to lead me into the satisfying career of physical therapy. I was blessed beyond measure to see God at work, weaving physical therapy skills with ministry for His Kingdom on short-term mission trips in 12 low resource countries.”
“Today, Sally continues to teach, inspire and guide others, as she did with me when we recently reconnected.”
Sally is now 88 years old and as it says on her business card, "Pursuing a Legacy," Sally has done just that. Sally never married or had children of her own; however, she has many spiritual children. When asked about her years with Young Life, Sally responded, “I can’t express how much Young Life meant to me and the lives that were impacted through that time. The Holy Spirit did a lot of follow up through the years, even after I left and went to new places and new ministry. A lot of the things I learned I continue to use in other parts of my life ... Young Life gave me a foundation and perspective on ministry that I could build upon and today I grow closer and closer to the Holy Spirit, listening and praying to Him.”
