Live

If you're near my age, you've probably just started going back to school, or you're just about to start back up. I make it a habit at the end of every summer to reflect on my previous school year and see what I could change. I evaluate my performance intellectually, relationally, and spiritually.

This year, I was completely disappointed with myself. Yes, I got mostly A's. And yes, I made new friends in my first year at a public (charter) school. But as I thought about my thoughts and my actions last year, I realized that I had let every day fly by. I had lived in it. But I hadn't lived it. I felt like I was the audience to my own life, sitting on the sidelines and thinking, "This is really boring." I never thought I could change it.

I think that at my age, it's common to get stuck in the middle of the stages of life. You're too old to be the little child who finds delight in every little thing, who adores going to school, and who makes friends within a matter of seconds. And yet you're too young to make a difference in the world.

At least, you think you're too young.

Every person is here for a reason. No matter how old, how young, what you do right now matters. It's a chain reaction: you touch one life, they in turn touch another, and they touch another. On and on it goes. And it could all start with you.

Don't get caught in the, "I'm too young to change the world" trap. You may not change the whole world, from your perspective. But you very well could change someone else's world.

Why not start with your own? This year, look around you. Find beauty in the small things. Delight yourself in the Lord. Let His joy come and make this year the best you've ever had. Don't sit back and watch your life fly by, wishing you were older. If you envision yourself as a fantastic Christian in ten years, remember you're not going to get there magically. You have to start a growing relationship with Christ now. He's put you where you are for a reason. Letting your life slip away is dishonoring Him and mistreating the gift He's given you. Make the most of it. Learn from it. And live, my friend. Live like you never have before.

l