Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

I have to admit: sometimes I really don’t believe that old saying “all good things come to those who wait.” I’ve grown up in a world where instant gratification is so prevalent that everyone seems to think it is necessary. Want food? Just call the number on the website and either have it delivered to your door or it will be ready for you to pick up in just a few minutes. Want to know something? Just Google it and you’ll be a genius in seconds. Want a boyfriend/girlfriend? Just go on an online dating site and you’ll probably meet someone within days***. Or you could always just settle and go out with that guy that you really don’t like but you enjoy the attention he gives you. A fast paced, quickly delivered, and high demanding world does not set foundations of patience.

I know I know, I’m only sixteen but I’m tired of the “you’ve NEVER had a boyfriend?!” statements or the “oh, but you’re pretty! I would think that boys would be all over you!” comments. And not to mention the times when my friends are all talking about their exes and I’m just sitting there thinking, “Why does no one like me? Why am I not good enough?” I could pity myself all day long, but instead of falling for that trap, I’ve decided to learn how to be thankful. I am thankful for my lack of exes and heartaches, I’m thankful that I haven’t had to deal with all of the drama of breakups and pointless relationships that don’t lead to marriage. I am thankful that God has given me the intuition to know when to end it with a guy before it turns into one of those meaningless relationships. I am thankful that I haven’t given away my heart and the love that should be saved for my future husband.

How precious would it be if I saved everything, emotionally and physically, for just one guy to have? It’s something that the world has taken for granted. Maybe it works for some people, but divorce rates are higher than ever before and I don’t want loads of baggage to weigh my relationship down for the rest of my life. It’s one of the hardest things to wait in uncertainty, but I am choosing to believe God’s truth:

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” ~ Psalm 27:13-14

Now, if you are someone that HAS had past failed relationships and you feel like you are carrying around unwanted baggage, I just want to let you know that it’s not too late. It’s not too late to wait. God can and will make you pure and He will carry any burdens that you have. The most important thing that you need to know is that no guy or girl will ever be able to satisfy all of your needs, so don’t wait for your “one” to come along to place your burdens upon them. As my mentor, Cameron, once told me, “No person will ever have the strength to carry your soul. Only God is strong enough to hold something as delicate and eternal as a soul,” or something along those lines. Since Jesus tore down the boundaries between us and God, we DON’T have to wait for Him any longer. The world provides instant gratification, but God provides eternal gratification.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matthew 11:28

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” ~ Psalm 37:3-5

Please don’t settle! Sisters, don’t go out with some guy just because he gives you the attention you have always desired. Brothers, don’t go out with some girl just because she’s hot. OR vice versa. Wait for someone who is beautiful because they reflect God’s image, someone who leads you closer to Him, someone who respects you and treats you like the child of God that you are! Wait for someone who has the same passions and desires as you, someone who you KNOW you could live the whole rest of your life with and wouldn’t want to live without, someone who isn’t perfect but will teach you how to be holy and be a servant like Jesus, someone who would be willing to wait for you too! Trust that in this waiting, He is making you beautiful. And if His plan is for you to get married one day, trust that He is making your future husband/wife beautiful too.

*** Don’t get me wrong, sometimes great relationships come over the internet and/or dating websites. I know people that it HAS worked out for. I am simply using it as an example for instant gratification because people my age shouldn't be so desperate that they think they have to use an online dating site.

A Call for Teenage Rebellion

This blogpost is not a call for teenage rebellion in the sense that all teens should rise up and disregard all that their parents have taught them, but a call for teens to rebel against the standards that the world has put in place for them. These worldly standards are not standards that push a teenager to the limits, but standards that lower the limits. They lower the limits so far that the average highschooler thinks that doing drugs, having a boyfriend/girlfriend (maybe even several), wearing tons of makeup and having the best clothes, scoring the winning point for their team, reaching 1000 followers on Instagram, and making straight A's are all there is to life. And all of their aims to "be different" end up turning out the same. All hopes of bigger things are either nonexistent or placed in the far future.

Let me tell you, I have tried in the past to fit this mold. I've meticulously calculated my likes on pictures on social media and figured out which pictures tend to get the most likes, I've worn loads of makeup to make myself feel beautiful, I've gauged my success on my ability to win over guys or make A's in my classes, I've spent half hours just trying to pick out clothes for the day, and I've lived whole entire days on my phone. This is normal though, so it's ok, right? I don't cuss, I don't drink or do drugs, I try to read my Bible every day, so I must be different. But in a normal daily basis, how am I living different from any other teenager? Quite frankly, the mold is suffocating. I want something more. I want to stand out.

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." ~ 1 Timothy 4:12

Yes, this verse IS telling teenagers to let no one despise them for their youth, but despite assumptions, it's not an automatic thing. Notice that the first word is "let" which is an action verb. Teenagers, WE control what others think and say about our youth! In order for us to not "let" anyone look down upon us for our age, we have to set an example and TRULY be different:

In Speech: What if in our speech, we were characterized by not only the fact that we refuse to cuss, but we also encouraged, loved, and provided the kindness that most people don't often receive? And what if in our speech, we didn't just talk about our homework, or some random daily drama, or that guy/girl we like, but instead we talked about our passions and told others our stories? And what if in our speech, we were open about our imperfections and expressed humility, because honestly... the competition to be better than each other is just a joke? And what if in our speech, we actually proclaimed the gospel that we are called to speak of, instead of "waiting until" we are older/wiser/more courageous?

In Conduct: What if in our conduct, we not only refused to participate in the constant fights and drama that the world is saturated in, but also stood in truth? The truth that God loves each of us and that none of us are perfect. Therefore, we would be apologetic, forgiving, accepting, loving, and compassionate. What if unlike the rest of our class, we actually respected our teachers? What if we actually respected our parents? What if we strove for excellence in everything that we did instead of the bare minimum? This list could go on and on, because often our actions speak even louder than our words. We must remember that we are not only to speak differently, but LOOK different in our actions so that we do not become hypocrites. We are to paint a pictures for others to see what following Jesus truly looks like.

In Love: What if in our love, we didn't just love those who were convenient to love and loved us, but we reached out to those whom everyone else refused to love? What if we made a commitment to love all peoples, our parents and siblings, our friends, our enemies, our neighbors, the people we see in our daily rhythms of life, strangers, and especially the poor and "the least of these" all around the world? What if we saturated ourselves daily and preached to ourselves daily of the love of God for us and allowed His love to pour out of us?

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things." 2 Corinthians 13:4-7

Teenagers, what if we were actually brave enough to live this way, in love, and hold our lives to these standards?

In faith: What if in our faith, we decided that no matter what, we would give our ALL to Jesus? What if we chose to believe that every single moment added up in our lives had God's sovereignty in it, and even on our hardest days, we had the faith to say "God, I know you love me and I know you are in this somehow"? What if we had the faith to share the gospel despite the awkwardness and fear of our own failing words? What if we had the faith to start giving generously out of our comfort zones (time, money, efforts) and opened our hands to allow God to give and take away all that we had? What if we had the faith to do big things that weren't expected of us because we KNEW that God is a big God? What if we even had the faith to leave our comfort zones for the rest of our lives and throw that lifestyle of complacency away?

In Purity: What if in our purity, we lived in constant remembrance that our bodies are God's temples? What if we dressed modestly, refused to let our minds wander to in-pure thoughts, gave up anything unholy and leading to sexual sin, and became confident in our identity found in Jesus instead of our body image? What if we waited for God to send someone worth waiting for instead of settling in our relationships? What if we realized that true beauty is what God makes in us and reflects on us instead of what the world tells us to be?

Teenager, I beg that you would consider all of these things and what your life could look life if you changed your standards and decided to live on God's terms! His burden is easy and His yoke is light yet you keep trying to do things on your own. The person that YOU create is selfish, prideful, unthankful, lazy, stubborn, angry, despising, lonely, and incapable. That person will always want more and will never be satisfied with life and its outcomes. The person that HE makes is selfless, humble, thankful, steadfast, obedient, kind, loving, loved and capable of ALL things in His power. They will be given a life that is lived to the fullest measure, and that life can start NOW. He WILL make you beautiful, and I can promise you that.

"For this very reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God has given us a spirit not of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:6-7