Kids THESE days

I know they say that teens are the devil. I heard that many times when I was one. The truth-They DO battle the devil, and demons everyday. It is amazing what is out there now in the way of peer pressure, availability, and normalcy. Do you know that it is not considered normal if you are NOT having sex.
There has always been pressure in growing up. That struggle to reach the top rung of popularity. The struggle to fit in with any group, just to avoid having to stand alone. I was not very good at battling off the pressure that comes in teens clothing. I had, and still do have trouble stopping the demons from creeping into my life.
As I watch these teens that I am doing life with, sharing time, and trying to be a good role model for, I see such pressure in their eyes. I listen as they share stories of setting boundaries in relationships. It is not only hard in the relationship, but they have to struggle at school, and among friends who know they are trying to set, and keep these boundaries, and moral guide lines. It is hard enough for them to have a conversation about abstaing from intimacy sexually. Then they are teased and ostracised by their own friends and peers. They are making choices that blows my mind.
These kids have their flaws, as we all do, but they are getting out of bed, and facing temptation daily, and doing a good job at beating it. I am proud of their accomplishments, dedication, and courage. The choices that are being are tough. Sometimes they will trip up, we all do. But they are facing it. I am learning so much from them.
This is a society of drugs, illegal and prescription. A public display of sex is on the TV, any channel. Everyones life is fair play for scrutiny by the media. Scandals, and wrong doings, are done even in the white house. Some Churches are being found out to be full of sex, and hate crimes. The TV, radio, magazines, and anything that is a soap box for sex is available to their Young minds. Porn and addiction can be found in any family. This is their reality!
Self mutilation is at its high. Record numbers of teens walk through my life, and share their stories of how they hurt themselves. Emotionally they have been scared from poor relationships with their fathers, absent parental supervision in their lives, and divorced situations. Again, an opportunity for sheer disaster. Being alone, in your home, as a child, is the first step toward a direction of anger. They come and share how cutting themselves seems to be a solution to releasing anger. Punching things or people seems to be a good idea to get rid of their feelings of saddness, and feeling lonely.They ask for, and listen to advice, and are searching for a different direction.
It is really tough to be a teenager in this day and age. If you have any in your life right now, may I suggest sitting down and really asking whats going on in their lives. It will amaze you if they tell you. You would be surprised to find out the day that they faced. Every corner that they turned, another opportunity to let the demon in. Temptation rules their life. I wonder how many times a day they really say no. It is no wonder they want to sleep so much. I would be exhausted too.
Honestly, grab a young person in your life, and take them out to lunch. Sit down and share your own faults and failures. Let them see that you to have fallen to temptation, and have made some wrong choices. How that made you feel afterward, and what you did with it after that. Share with them how proud you are of them, for any reason. It is important. You need to have a good line of communication, and keep it open. Understand what they are going through. Ask them how that makes them feel. Tell them how that makes you feel to know what they are facing. Acknowledge that you know and understand how tough it is. DO NOT tell them you know what they feel because you were young once too. That is in fact obvious. Instead, share that it was tough when you were young, and recognize that it has gotten so much worse. It really has.
I say all the time that we live in a broken mirror society. You, nore I will ever see the same me staring at me in the mirror, the way other people see us. We are taught to point out our flaws, and dwell on our weaknesses. It is not socially acceptable to accept a compliment. We will never be skinny enough to feel perfect, and everyone is forever on a diet. These walls forbid us to recognize the beautiful people we are right now. Just as God has created us. Take a really good look at your whole self. What is it that you are adding to your child's plate when it comes to demons. Together, we can help shape this era of "Me generation" kids, into something beyond the expectations we ourselves are setting for them. In the meantime, we will learn a heck of a lesson along the way....