Hope in our youth

I started my summer like I did last summer, chaperoning our high school youth retreat. For 5 days I spent countless hours in worship, small group, mission work, and fun time with this year, 12 of our amazing church youth. This is one of my favorite times! I’ve been home now for over 2 weeks and it’s taken me this long to put in to words what I feel.

I love teenagers! You won’t hear that often from people but I do, I think they are great. I’ve mentioned before I was a high school math teacher for years, and it wasn’t because of the kids I quit! Teenagers are just little people in bigger bodies. They know how to wipe their own noses, they can express to you when they are upset and they don’t hang all over you all day long (I subbed this year in elementary school once, and never again!!) Teens are fun! They make you laugh, they act silly, and sometimes their comments and conversations are so off the wall all you can do is laugh!

I love teenagers!

I’m one of the few who will tell you they love teens, which to me is so sad. Most parents, and adults, write off teenagers. They believe once they’ve hit teenage years they are self sufficient and can do everything for their selves. I don’t have these thoughts at all! In fact, I believe teenagers need us more then ever. Their emotions, their bodies, their thoughts are grown up, but they aren’t. We ourselves as adults are even confused about what we feel and our own thoughts, why in the world are we making these teenagers deal with it themselves? I once read this quote (probably on Pinterest) “Teenagers are the most misunderstood people on the planet. They are treated like children and expected to act like adults”. Wow, that’s the truth. We have teens working close to full time hours, going to school, dealing with all the stress life brings now a days (a lot more then we could imagine – social media, peer pressure, bullying, etc). Why? Aren’t we suppose to be taking care of them? Loving them?

So this takes me back to my week with these awesome youth. I watched 12 youth members worship God like no one was looking, hands in the air, songs shouted, arms linked, swaying to the beat, worshiping. I watched 12 youth pray when they felt they needed to, while everyone was looking, they didn’t care. I watched youth share deepest feelings with other youth they just met in small group. I watched youth work for hours in a nonprofit thrift store organizing, cleaning and helping sort because they believed in the mission. I watched youth kayak and canoe down a river, hot and tired and some very scared, just to pick up trash out of the river; and after 2 and a half hours got out with smiles on their faces. Totally uncomfortable, filthy but happy because they helped do good work!

An amazing generation

This generation is full of teenagers just like these 12! Unlike what people will tell you about this young generation, they are not rude or lazy or selfish. These kids have goals (and big ones!), they believe in the message of God and will share it with anyone that will listen, they want to change the world by eradicating cyber bullying and school violence, along with so much more! Our job is to keep telling them they can! God has a plan for each one of these kids, we need them to remember this, trust their faith in Him. We need to nourish their hearts, help them keep them open and not close up to those in need; I love standing in the background and watching a teenager with a younger child, the youthfulness they can share will put a smile on your face. We need to allow them to have fun, be silly, this is one of my favorites! I could write a book just on things teenagers say, they are so silly!

“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, and in purity” – 1 Timothy 4:12

Just like your 3 year old who wants to share with you what happened at preschool, or ask you why questions all day long, teenagers want to do the same. But why aren’t parents doing this? Teenagers want to be loved! They want you to listen to them, they want you to make them feel loved. And it’s not just parents. It’s church adults, neighbors, teachers, coaches. Anyone can take the time to listen. Their ideas and thoughts aren’t as off the wall as you think they are! Some of these kids are smarter then we are.

My week with the youth always open my eyes.I like to believe that I am mature in my faith and I am teaching them; however, a week with them and I come home refreshed and renewed from what they shared with me. I know that my Church is in good hands. I know that Christianity is growing, that faith is “cool”. I know that God’s message will continue to spread, that mission work will continue to be done, and those less fortunate will be taken care. The next time you are scared of what this world is coming to, don’t be! Grab that teenager down the street and take them for coffee, talk with them about their hopes and dreams, thoughts and feelings; you too will see there is hope in this youthful generation!