"They can't
be fixed!"
"What's going
on in their heads?!"
"Yes, I
understand what 'teenage tornado' means!"
"I never
acted like that, when I was a teenager!"
Scientists are trying to cure cancer, send astronauts to other planets, learn what makes gravity work, and many other tasks; too many to count. But as a silver-haired parent with grandchildren, I know a task almost at the top of the list... understanding and managing teenagers; any of them – anywhere on the planet.
Doctors can't do it. Mechanics can't do it. Mathematics professors can't do it. Mom's can't do it. And my dad certainly couldn't do it. There isn't anyone, that I know of, that can fix something without first knowing what's broke; what it is, exactly, that needs fixed. It's probably a lot like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together and not knowing what the picture looks like, and how many pieces are missing. Would the puzzle become next to impossible if the puzzle pieces were in the wrong box? How frustrated could you get, trying to assemble a puzzle, looking at the WRONG picture?
The big lie comes from the prince of liers, himself – Satan. The last thing he wants us to hear and believe, is that God is not the author of confusion, and requires us to follow 1 Corinthians 14:40:
Let all things
be done, decently and in order. He demonstrates this over and
over in
nature and the creation around us. We carry the best evidence inside of us; our incredibly complex but orderly body systems.
nature and the creation around us. We carry the best evidence inside of us; our incredibly complex but orderly body systems.
But Satan continues his relentless neverending, often subtle, lying in our ears and heart, that all teenagers are in a stampeding self-destruct mode. Because we adults are so immersed in our own busy agendas, we blindly believe and accept Satan's lies about our youth.
All this would be somewhat automatic, if it weren't for all the Heaven-sent directives and promises that are certainly provided for our parenting and mentoring efforts. Our course of action must first begin with prayer, asking God how He wants us to reach out to these young souls for which He shed His precious blood on Calvary, just as He has done for you and I.
