Sunbeams shining across a huge tree with carvings all over it.
Have you ever heard the country song “That’s What I like about Sunday” by Craig Morgan? He sings “Take a walk down a back road, Tackle box and a cane pole; Carve our names in that white oak, An’ steal a kiss as the sun fades, That’s what I love about Sunday.” Did you ever do that as a teenager? Carve your name in a tree? Do you remember the feeling that if you carved your name there it would be permanent, it would last well beyond that year. How long is permanent for a teenager anyway? I remember that feeling that if I carved it, that relationship will last forever. Funny how differently we look at life as adults than as teenagers. As a teenager I thought it was a great idea, as an adult I feel for the poor tree. I also pay more attention to the history the tree holds from all of those first loves.
As teenagers we thought we were invincible. I know I did and most all of my friends thought nothing could stop them. I loved the feeling that speeding in a car gave me. I had my red 1987 Toyota Supra, buddy I thought it was too hot to touch. Just about every red light I sat waiting for someone to race me, it didn’t matter if my friends were with me or not. I desired the high that came from racing someone else and opening up my engine.
I look back and think I was lucky I didn’t get in a wreck, I didn’t really know how to handle that kind of power or speed. I am lucky I didn’t kill someone crossing the road. I don’t consider myself lucky that I didn’t ever get a ticket because had I received a ticket I definitley would have stopped racing. Infact the first ticket I ever received for speeding not racing, I actually said to the police officer “It’s really about time you caught me speeding.” To which he replied, “Mam have you been drinking?” I do not drink now nor did I drink as a teenager so I was offended at the comment but laughed about it. As a teenager I thought I was invincible.
So what memories can you pull out of storage of your teen years. Did you love speeding in a car, your car? Did you tempt fate by jumping off cliffs into water that you had no idea how deep? Did you take any dare you could from your friends? Did you experiment with drinking (really what teenager doesn’t), or with drugs? Did you try everything once just to see? Looking back did you think you knew it all and you knew what you were doing? God must have had us on his radar 24/7. Don’t you wonder how we made it through?
God help us we are moms now. Our children our normal healthy children who will become teenagers and no doubt do the same things. What do we do? Can we lock them in the house and throw away the key until they turn 21? It is really a disconcerting thought, what will we do? I guess we will do what our parents did PRAY LIKE CRAZY!! We will try to be there for our teens. We will try our hardest to always have the lines of communication open both ways. We will monitor as closely as possible what our teens are doing, who they are with and where they are going. We will parent the best we possibly can and then we will give the rest to God and just PRAY 24/7 that our teens survive it all like we did.
It seems just when we have it all figured out with the age and stage of our children they change it all up on us by continuing to grow. Such is life growth and aging. God help each of us to remember our past to help us with our children’s future. God please grant us the patience, understanding and parenting skills to not only get through the teenage years but to help our teens survive them. So that our teens can one day look back at that big white Beech tree find his/her initials and think how did I make it through my teenage years. Because someday they will be right where we are standing today on the threshold with fear, anxiety and hopefully the trust to lean on God.
You said it, prayer is a powerful thing! One thing my two teens have going for them that I didn’t have as a teen, is they already have an amazing faith. It’s really quite interesting to see the difference in their attitudes and thoughts about things compared with what mine were at the same age. They’re so much cooler than I was. :o)