Not About Age

When I teamed up with the Lindquist Family almost a month ago, one of the first ways Mrs. Lindquist described me was following I Timothy 4:12, which reads, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." Little did she know I had come to respect that verse a couple years previous after reading the book "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris. For those of you who haven't read it, I highly recommend it. Just an awesome, honest look at the lack of high expectations most teens are given today, as well as real-life examples of teens who are doing amazing things, and ways you can change the world around you. 


One of the many things I love about being in Orphan Ministry is the fact that so much of it today is teen/young adult-oriented. Student Mission Trips. Student Groups. Student activities. You get my drift. Beyond the fact that so much is being offered for young people, though, it's so awesome to see so many of my fellow teens getting involved. Some of my generation that's getting involved aren't even teens! Some are already through High School and inspire us with their "Big Brother/Big Sister" example. In some cases, I literally have friends that are twelve or thirteen who are striving to make a difference. 


As the Harris Brothers, or me, or Tori, or just about any devoutly Christian person will tell you, the expectations set for the teens today are far too low and underwhelming. "Just don't do anything bad," many people tell teenagers. When young people stand up for their beliefs that may not mesh with what culture wants to feed them, they're told they don't have the ability to make those decisions on their own yet. There's not  a whole lot of "Do the right thing even when it's hard" type of morals going around. But Orphan Ministry, I humbly believe,  is the special group of people to say "It's not about age, but heart. It's not about whether you're sitting in math class or saving children from starvation in Africa. Great things can be done at all ages. Because we are all called to be extraordinary."