Grow, flourish, and thrive

One of the hardest battles I believe teenagers face when they go off to college, is they don't know themselves well enough.  For some of them, they have been sheltered, fed, and disciplined all their lives, never truly discovering what their strengths and weaknesses are. 

In High School, most teenagers are like a baby trees in Wheatland, Wyoming.  This town's nickname is Windy Wheatland so you can imagine the kind of nurturing a tree must have in order to thrive here.  When our trees are babies, not only do we have to add things to the soil in order for it to hold moisture, but we have to put up wind barriers, drip systems, use herbicides, pesticides, and vitamins!  Seriously, I have a hard time imagining when the Bible talks about the cedars being so thick. 

As teenagers we are much like these baby trees in Wheatland.  We are nurtured so much by our parents that once we finally have to fend for ourselves, not only do we sometimes stop growing, we often backtrack and even die (to sin that is).  My challenge to all teenagers is to figure out who they are before they leave the nest.  Recognize your strengths as well as your weaknesses.  Chances are these are traits that will follow you throughout your lifetime.  Mine have.  Ask God to start revealing these to you.  Bless others with your strengths and ask God to strengthen what is a weakness in your life.  Think of some lifelong habits you want to possess and start working on those, now.  Have a vision for what your life will look like during and after college.  Look at the logistics of these goals and start working on them, today.  Once you're in High School, as tedious, tiresome, and long it might seem, college really is just around the corner.

The reason I am sharing this with you all is because college was tough for me: academically, socially, and more than anything spiritually.  Academically, I didn't manage my time or talents well.  I got pretty good grades, but I believe it could have been done in a much less stressful way.  Socially, I hung out with the wrong crowd, leading to a lot of corruption, guilt, and regret.  Spiritually, I didn't have true hope, peace, and joy, because of my selfish pride and disobedience.  Did my college career help shape me into who I am today? Absolutely.  But because I now see the incredible opportunities that are offered academically, socially, and spiritually in college, I feel the need to share my testimony with youth, in hopes that they might better prepare themselves for college.

As a baby tree, learn to shelter, feed, and discipline your own roots.  If you do, chances of you drying up, being choked out, or even dying are very unlikely.  In fact, you will be more likely to grow, flourish, and thrive.