GROWTH

Dear Christian teens,

As we look forward to this new year, for some of us, it may be a sight of new beginnings. And for others, it may be a sight of more failure.

More mistakes, more sin, more fear, more trials...I could go on and on!

But first, I want to encourage you all to look at the good things.

Look at how God has grown you this past year.

Even though it doesn't seem like it now, the Lord takes the nasty,

rough, and painful parts of our lives and turns them into miracles.

He uses those dark moments to grow us and turn us into something beautiful.

Sometimes we never truly understand something until we experience the hard side of it.

It's hard being a Christian.

It's hard to stay still and listen to God's voice.

It's hard not to get restless.

It's hard to be lonely.

It's hard to feel like a failure.

It's hard to lose what you love.

It's hard to have patience.

It's hard to love when you're not being loved.

It's hard to......

Jesus didn't always have peace.

Jesus wasn't always surrounded by friends.

Jesus didn't always succeed.

Jesus lost so much.

Jesus went through pressing times.

Jesus wasn't always loved.

Instead, He was beaten, spit in the face, rejected for who He was, forgotten, left out, He was poor, He lost everything, He became sin so that those who sinned would have life.

You see, Jesus didn't have a perfect life.

To be a Christian doesn't mean that you're always going to be happy.

Instead, you will be the exact opposite.

God doesn't want us to be "comfortable."

He wants us to grow through our mistakes and find joy in the darkest moments of our lives.

He wants us to read our Bibles, have a spiritual life, lead more people to Him.

He doesn't want us to be perfect!

But He wants us to grow.

Christians, no matter what...surrender to God and let Him grow you.

Use this time to let God chisel off those sinful ways of your heart, and make it more like Christ.

Being a Christian is hard. But in the end, you will find peace, hope, joy and love.

sincerely,
                  Sophie