Yesterday I sat at lunch with a few students who I would consider myself close with. The girls talked and talked about both of their lives, the good and the bad. Both had similar stories of the everyday high school life. They confessed that instead of feeling respected for making the right decisions and not going with the flow they have become the outsiders. The ones people avoid. They've become the social outsiders. They talked about the large groups everyone runs in, and their need to be accompanied in their bad decisions. Then they both confessed so many Friday nights when they've sat at home with their family while so many others were out "having a good time". The entire conversation was great, and I told the girls how very proud I am of them both for being strong in what they believe, and not being swayed by the majority. I love hearing those kinds of stories! But the part of the conversation that intrigued me the most was how the girls recognized that the majority of the students making bad decisions for themselves were all in some sort of group. The inability to be alone. Needing someone else to justify the decisions you're making for yourself. Sound familiar?
The more I've thought about it, the more I understand and see that insecurity is plaguing us today, heavily. Are you afraid to be alone? Does the silence in your life scream truth? Do you fear that? Great questions you should seriously explore in your own life...in my own life.
If there was any advice I would start off giving someone, it would be to be comfortable being you. Just you. No additives, no substitutions. Just the person that God created you to be. And be comfortable being alone! Refuse to allow another person or thing fill the parts of you that only God can fill. Could you make a hard decision without an army of "friends" behind you? Can you stand up for what you know is right, even when people don't agree? Don't get me wrong, I love company, but I truly believe the presence of others in our live can easily overshadow what God is trying to do. Sometimes it's just necessary to be alone. Having our own relationship with God means individuality at it's best. He wants to take us above and beyond what we can imagine, and He longs to fill that insecurity that might be plaguing us. It's our job to allow Him to do that!
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