if I get this one wrong I should quit my job - my response to Muse #3

(Reminder: Read the post below, Muse #3, before you read this.)

I'm sitting in Panera right now, and there are two old men having a conversation across from me. I wonder if they faced the same problems when they were 17 as you face now.

I doubt it, but I do know that they faced problems. They were probably concerned about getting drafted to fight. That's a pretty serious issue. If they are anywhere near my grandma's age they were also probably trying to put food on the table and keep their families together.

The Depression was rough, or so I've heard.

Honestly, I didn't have much to complain about when I was a teenager, certainly not compared to the two old guys or to any of you. I was worried about college and financial aid, and I was starting to wonder if I would ever have a boyfriend. Obviously, it all worked out. God's plan was and still is perfect.

I give all of you a lot of credit. I believe that most of you have faced stuff that I may never deal with, and I know that it hasn't always been easy. I think there are a few main issues that most teenagers faced today, and I definitely think they're different for guys and girls. I honestly don't know how to pinpoint the "top" issue, so I am only writing about two that I think are important.

I believe the root of so many problems that young men face can be traced to a lack of effective and godly role models in their lives. I think guys, probably more than girls, need men to look up to and emulate (Look it up on the dictionary link that is on the side of this blog!). When these role models are gone, teenage guys start looking to each other, media, etc. to figure out what to do and how to act.

The thing I fear most for young women is the exploitation of the intimacy that should be reserved for their husband. In other words, I think that everything in the world is telling teenage girls that the path to love, security, and identity is found in giving their bodies to guys. I think this issue is HUGE. A lot of girls know this is the issue and deep down still fight to not give in.

The bottom line is - it's tough, and it continues to get tougher.

The other bottom line is that I was wrong in what I said earlier. I do know the biggest problem. Without Jesus at the core of my life or a teenager's life, the issues and problems of life will overtake us. Jesus is the bottom line. He's the only answer to our biggest problem.