By Naiyah Van Why, Vice President, CY CHRIST
Hello everyone, I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to talk about with you guys, and i’ve come to realize that the most helpful information usually comes from life experiences. As a senior in high school I have been having to make so many life choices, and decisions that will shape my future. To say the least, being an adult is stressful, there’s a never ending list of things that you have to decide, what school you want to go to? What job do you want? Also you have to figure out how to pay for school , food, bills, gas, etc. It’s funny because as a kid I was so eager to become an adult, and I remember adults always telling me not to rush growing up,but of course I never listened to them. It’s one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself, and looking back it’s crazy to think how I didn’t have a care in the world as a kid, I didn’t worry about money, or school, all I worried and stressed about was my annoying siblings picking on me. And it got me thinking, if I was completely oblivious to all those blessings as a kid, what if i’m missing out on more right now? It also got me thinking why am I stressing out about these petty things? Yes it’s important to get a good education, and yes money is helpful with surviving and everything, but I am beginning to realize that stressing about life is pretty petty, and really having the mindset of a child doesn’t have to go away as an adult. One of my favorite passages is from Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This is a pretty common chapter in the bible, and the chances are that you’ve probably heard it before. But, I challenge you with this chapter , and all of the Bible for that matter, to try and put yourself in the situation. Instead of reading with the mindset that you already know what something says, or you’re already doing something right. Really try and analyze your life, and see if you can relate to the characters in the bible who have messed up. For example I always used to read about the pharisees, and think wow how terrible! They were so caught up in their own laws that they completely missed who those laws were pointing to all along, but then I realized that there have been times in my past where I have definitely been like a pharisee. Especially when I first became a Christian, I wanted everyone to know about God which was amazing, but more often than not I didnt show people who God really was, because I was too busy trying to tell them how they were doing everything wrong. This is just one example of how so often we can read something in the bible and not get anything from it, because we come up with excuses like “well that passage does not apply to me, because I already trust God, or i’m already a Christian.” But when we think things like that, we are usually overlooking the planks in our own eyes.
Matthew 7:3-5 New International Version (NIV)
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
You see it’s so easy to see only the bad things in life, but when we intentionally look for the good in things not only will we be a light in others lives but we can lighten up our lives too. Now, I don’t know who you are or what you have been through, but I know that you have gone through some really hard circumstances, and have dealt with a whole lot of pain. And in no way am I trying to belittle what you have gone through, and how those times were unbearable. However, I do know that wherever you are in life right now, there are things to be grateful for, and the first being that there is a God who loves you no matter where you have been, or what you’ve done, or what you’ve thought. Through this journey of life thus far, I have been really trying to focus on the blessings in my life instead of the hardships. One way I’ve been trying to do this is to write down what I’m thankful for as often as possible. It can be as simple as just being happy that I woke up this morning, to being grateful for a supportive friend. Another way to focus on your blessings is to take some time out of your day to slow down, go outside somewhere that makes you happy. For me that’s right next to the little creek by my house, and just talk to God and spend some quiet time in nature. The fresh air and sunshine are so good for us, and also help to relax the body, also all the green of the trees and plants are so calming. So spending time outside has also been really beneficial in my journey of looking at the brighter side of life. I hope you guys learned something from this nice talk we’ve had, and I pray that each one of you will continue growing in faith and loving everyone and everything a little more! 🙂
-Naiyah Van Why
Vice President