Teenagers—Guest Writer

There is someone dear to me who has been going through a heartbreaking trial for the last several months.  While it wasn’t the ending they were seeking, the situation is now resolved and the family has a sense of closure and can move forward.  As they process all that happened, she shared some of her ruminations with me.

 

We have been talking a lot about rebellious natures in our house lately. I was given a picture of Eve: The very sins she was guilty of and that we have since been born to do, seems to be amplified in teenagedom. As I think over the attitude of teenagers, it seems so preposterous and irrational until I wrote it all down and saw something very familiar.

Teenager:
I will accept/expect the home you give me, the food you prepare for me, the utilities you pay for that keep me comfortable. But I will make my own choices about what I should do. I will determine for myself what I find right and wrong. I will direct my own steps for my own life. You have set rules for my benefit, I will choose when, where, how and if I will obey.

P.S. I will also expect you to bail me out of the trouble I get into.

Us:
I will accept the sunshine, the air I breath, the environment that keeps me comfortable, the ability to use my arms and legs, the ability to eat and drink. I will not only accept it I will expect it and resent YOU if I don't have it. I will expect/accept it without feeling any obligation to show gratitude or servitude. You owe it to me. I know you have given me laws to live by to keep me safe, I will chose when, where, how, and if I will follow You. I am under no obligation. I want to be in control over my own destiny, the "master of my own domain" (we even named web pages after our desires)

I think teenagers are Gods way of showing us a mirror.