Reflections

Hello! Today I am doing the Friday Reflections at Christ is Write. Every Friday, Tessa puts a new verse on her blog, reflects on it herself, and gives us a chance to reflect on it too by answering these questions.

This Week's Verse

Tessa's Questions

1. Have you ever felt looked down on because of your age? Or have you felt the need to prove to others that you are mature?
Sometimes. Since there are a lot of college students at our church, I spend some time with them. I don't think they really do look down on me, but I still feel bad because I'm younger. . I'm a little shy so I'm always afraid to prove myself to others.

2. List specific ways that you can put this Scripture into action in your own life. (Example: Sit with the girl at school whom everyone else tends to avoid.)
One of my friends who isn't a Christian has gone through a lot. I think I should try to love her unconditionally and NOT laugh and go along with everything she says. I could  witness to my cousin and grandparents who aren't Christians as well.

3. Have you ever been tempted to settle for living the average teen life rather than living only for God? What was the result?
I can be a little bit of a pushover sometimes. When my friends ask my opinion on something, I tend to say I agree with them when I don't agree with them at all. I hide when they're watching or doing something I don't want to do. Whenever they ask me about it, I make an excuse instead of voicing my true view on the subject. Only a few friends know what I'm truly thinking. As a result,  my friends don't know much about me and I forgot the true value of speaking up and discerning what's right and wrong.

4. What are steps you can take to grow in your relationship with Christ?
I am a music freak. I listen to all kinds of music. So I would say listening to more Christian music and being careful about what I see and hear. That would help me because music inspires me so much. I would get to hear something true and good instead of discerning what's good and what's bad in a secular song.

5. Are there any challenges you face in applying this Scripture to your life?
There's so much lies in the culture. Some of my favorite musical artists don't even have their priorities straight. Because of that, our generation is being feed lies that affect them, and me, greatly. Everyone's okay with talking about things like sex and profanity because they hear it on show or a movie. I have to remember to fight against the lies and remember what's truly valuable in God's eyes.

6. Discuss your own reflection of this Scripture (as I did above -- at least one paragraph).
Like I said before, I spend a lot of time with people that are older than me. I have to continually remind myself that just your young age isn't a disadvantage. I can listen to people who have made mistakes and learned from it. That's an advantage of being younger. But just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm any less important in God's eyes.

My Dad once told me that your youth is very important because you absorb so much. I have to be careful about what I absorb. Sometimes I find myself wasting my time on Instagram and ultimately, the Internet when I could be writing or doing something else much more worthwhile. What I see is in stays in my mind and even when I don't see it, it affects me. So I want to live every day for God and not waste time.

In Christ,
Sarah