So I'm Young

My verse of the day yesterday was  2 Timothy 4:2: "Preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction." 

Today it's the popular 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." 

In a lot of ways I feel like I was more mature as a high-schooler. Silly concept, right? But while my innocence was always mistaken for naivety, my relationship with the Lord was so pure before I was introduced to the sins of adulthood. I always hated that I was naive, but loved it at the same time. Before I knew what drunkenness was like, I didn't care for it. Before I knew financial struggle was, I wasn't anxious..

So I cherish my youth, and embrace it. Yeah, I'm living in the big girl world where I have to have a job to support myself and take responsibility for unforeseen circumstances, but I don't have to feel like I need to be older to have the wisdom of the ages. We learn from experience, but it is possible to learn before we experience. Why else would God leave us a 2,000 page instruction manual?  So 21 or 27 or 58 or 15, I'll seek wisdom they way I did as little girl blowing away the petals of dandelion and wishing for "wisdom." 8-year Laura didn't understand what wisdom was, but my Bible said it was good so I wanted it. And though I will never be wise, the Lord will be faithful to bless me with words to share, ideas to contemplate and discuss, truth to know, believe and live out; and while I may have many more years to learn many more things, no statement like "she's still young" can be rightfully justified of the heart who seeks Jesus. Here's a promise, and one that I don't make lightly:

Like 11-year-old middle-school Laura on beaches of Wilmington, NC who was unafraid to approach strangers and ask them if they have the security about life after death, and

Like 13-year-old dance instructor Laura on the way to a conference in Atlanta, GA who unknowingly committed a felony by writing  "Jesus loves you" on all her dollar bills just in case someone who received one needed to hear it,

Like 19-year-old Australian traveler Laura who  used her American accent to start conversations on the train everyday so people would ask about the sticky-note Bible verses on her coffee mug everyday,

And like the 10-year-old to now 21-year-old Laura who wears a band around her left finger so that when people ask what "purity" means, she can explain the rewards of abstaining from premarital sex, and furthermore, how her commitment to God is to fight to be pure of heart and in thought..

I will rise up without intimidation and proclaim the name of Jesus like Jerusalem was instructed to in Isaiah 60:1, "Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the LORD rises upon you."

I've been a teacher since I learned how to speak. I'm an encourager, and I always will be. I don't need years of experience to figure out God's purpose for me, I need a heart that is eager and devoted to seeking Him above all else. I learn from people who are younger than I..and so what, I'm young. I promise to set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. Age is relative in terms of surrender.