Expectations.

Hey everyone!

Sorry I've been lacking on posts a little.  I hope to get some more fun posts going soon!  :)

Today I felt the need to share something with you.

It's about the world's expectations, their hopes for "successful" Christians.  By successful Christians, I mean Christians who are visibly different--set apart.  If we seem different, other people are going to either 1) see a light in us and want to change their heart or 2) see a light in us and despise it--try to put it out.  They'll expect us to fail and they'll want us to.

I have a longtime friend who has changed--she's started to resent her parents and be very rude to everyone she meets.  We've grown apart.  But the past two years have been the time I've really grown closer to God and become a God Girl--a girl for Him.

I've realized that in those past years, my friend must have seen a difference in me.  She frequently tried to "make" me fail.  She would comment that she, for instance, had heard my parents say a cuss word...when they really hadn't (because I know that my parents would never say stuff like that).  She asks me every time she sees me if I'm "a teenager yet?"  What she means by that is am I smarting off to my parents, hibernating to my room, and acting like I know everything?  My answer is always simple: "No, I'm not and I won't ever be."

She's tried all kinds of things.  "You will be soon."  "Oh, you're wearing skinny jeans?  That's the next step to being a teenager."  That last one made me chuckle, actually.  ;)  One time she got a bit perturbed when I told her that actions speak louder than words and we'd just find out as time goes on whether or not she was right.  I'm constantly working to prove her wrong.

So, the point is, the world wants you to fail.  Why?  Because they don't want anyone rising above them and doing anything with their lives.  They want you to stay in that popular brainwashed hole of boys, drama, and Justin Bieber.  Of gossip, celebrities, and "perfect" beauty.  Of cool cars, name brand clothes, and being envied.

They want you to fail.

They want you to spend your teenage years the same way everyone does.  And so many people do this.  But they regret it.

Alex Kendrick, maker of the movies Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous, was asked what he would do if he could "do it over again."  His response was:

"Would have dated less in my youth and spent more time chasing God."

So there you have it.  Take it from someone who's done this before.  I guarantee you that if you look around, several adults would agree with Alex.

We can rise far above the expectations this world has for us.  We're better than that.  We're worth more than that.  Don't throw it away.  Don't "survive" these teen years.  Thrive in them.  Use them.