For the Weird Girl

  Whether we realize it or not, there is a very real battle being fought for our minds.  Some of those fights are waged hoping that we will simply purchase their product. Others are trying to convince us of their political views or to get us to join their cause.  Others are vying for our very souls.

   I often wonder whether or not those battles are intentional, or if we have been programmed as such.   We’re taught, at least in English, how to form a thesis and defend the argument, in order to convince the reader of that thesis.  Rather than a seeking after truth, we have been taught how to defend our point.  (Personally, I think there is a great injustice in that)

     It is therefore no surprise that our world does everything it can to mould you into their form, buy their stuff and think their thoughts.

    Sending you off to high school wasn’t really all that tough of a decision for your mother and I.  A lot of people thought it must have been hard.  You have likely overheard many people ask, “So.  Are you ready for the big change as your daughter heads off to high school?”

   I guess it was big in the sense that we did a lot of praying over the decision.  It was also big in the sense that I almost cried when your cat walked to the road to say good-bye on your first day of school.  It was not a big deal in the sense that we are worried about your ability to find your way in this world. 

  It isn’t so much that we think you’re the perfect girl and that you don’t sin.  It’s more that, we believe that your faith in Christ is authentic, and that He is able to meet your every need as you navigate through life.

    As believers, we often debate over what our lives in this world should look like.  Sometimes we look down on people who seem to isolate themselves from the world.  The truth is, we are in the world whether we like it or not.  The question we need to ask is, “What am I doing as I live in the world?”

Jeremiah 15:19

“....If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!”

   When I think of you in your life at high school, God’s words to Jeremiah often come to mind when He said, “You must influence them.  Do not let them influence you!”

   You are much different than the world, and by now, you have no doubt noticed exactly that.  It’s not that you are better than anyone, that you sin less or that you do more good things.  The difference is Christ.   Sure.  Our world is fine with individuality, just as long as our individuality remains about the clothes we wear, our hair style or wearing black lipstick.  We find opposition when we actually are different.

   I believe that you are there in your setting to influence those around you.  They are not to influence you.  My hope is that you don’t grow weary in being you, because your mother and I REALLY like you.  I know it can be tiring to swim upstream, but that’s kind of the whole point.