Highschoolers

Truth is, God does some pretty amazing stuff. Sure he created the world, is almighty, all powerful, and Lord of it ALL; but what really gets me is how he works in our lives.  We go through our lives making plans, setting dates, ordering invitations, counting guests, worrying about food quantities, hoping everyone is enjoying themselves, driving ourselves into the ground while none of our ideas go exactly as planned.  Why do we do this?

I went to school thinking I was going to be a marine biologist when I was "all grown up", but that's not what happened.  I was passionate about biology and about the ocean.  Many family members and friends can testify to the numerous hours I have spent looking into tidepools and identifying most of the living organisms inside.  I planned, I worked, I studied, and now I teach chemistry and physics to teenagers in a school surrounded by corn.  This wasn't what I pictured as a high school graduate.  This turning of the tides landed me in a place that was never on my radar and strangely enough I'm so incredibly happy that it did.

So what's this all have to do with highschoolers you might ask. To answer this question simply, it has everything to do with them.  For all the hours I have spent going to beaches and aquariums, I have spent far more with highschoolers.  Some of the most inspiring people that I know are between the ages of 15-18.  I know a girl that is so on fire for the Lord that she sings and dances like no one is watching.  I know the simple joy of a young person's first job and the frustrations that come along with that.  I know what it is like to laugh heartily with a room full of teenagers.  I have experienced all of these things because the Lord God Almighty has awakened this passion inside of me for young people.  They are so full of life, and hopes, and dreams, and passions that to be with them is both exhausting and refreshing.

There have been times of doubt even while being amongst such amazing people.  There have been hard days and even some days that have been unbearable.  There have been some frowns, tears, sweat, and fears yet God has always found a way to communicate where he wants me to be.

I just find it so amazing that there are times where God grabs you by the ear, drags you to a place you said you would never go, and gives you the most eye opening experience.  And you will find that my story is not unique.  God will often call us to go in a direction we never before had considered.  He may also bring us to places we have adamantly refused to go (I have before refused to go to the Midwest and refused to become a teacher).  He wants us to trust him so that he can bring us to where we are meant to be.  He reveals to us in these times what gifts and qualities that he has given us and how we are to use them.  To me he has given a passion and patience for the craziness that is a 16 year old.

I encourage you to follow your passions but also be prepared to do something you either aren't expecting or don't feel quite prepared to do.  You may not be planning on it, but God probably has your own version of a highschooler just around the corner.  We make plans but God's the one that makes things actually happen.