Between Twelve and Thirty-three

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Today one of our teens sang a song popularized by the McKameys titled Between Twelve and Thirty-three. The chorus says eighteen years of  Jesus’ life is a mystery. In the last three, He made history.  It reminded me that we know about the Christmas story and His trip to the temple, but then everything is lost in time except that Luke says “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” He was preparing Himself for the three years of ministry and Calvary. I thought back, as a teen, how did I prepare myself for life? I made good grades. I tried to make good choices in my friends. I prepared to go to college. I got saved at fifteen. That was a new chapter of preparation.

At fifteen, I became serious in Bible reading. I won’t say study because I didn’t know how to study the Bible, but I did read a chapter every day. I began a daily prayer life. I evaluated situations to make sure they were the best choice for a Christian. Did I always make good choices? No, I am a sinner saved by grace like everyone else, but Jesus expected and expects me to be a light for Him in a dark world. I was preparing for the work He had for me to do, though I had no idea what that work was. It turns out, I had more than three years to make a difference in my world. I became a wife who influenced my husband’s salvation. I became a mother of three wonderful children who we tried to raise in a Christian home. I became a teacher. That, like family, is a mission field. Now I write blogs and historical fiction with the purpose of glorifying my Heavenly Father.

I’m not meaning to toot my own horn. I am just saying that at fifteen I began to allow God to prepare me for a work that goes on yet today. It’s satisfying and fun.

Teen years should not be lost years though they may be hidden to the world. May God use those years to prepare Christian teens for a purposeful and meaningful life. It will be the best life anyone ever experienced.

If you would like to hear the song please join the McKameys at :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGrr78pN3ks

Join us by leaving a message of how God is preparing you to do His work!