11rl0902imr - Let my life light up.

"So be strong and
courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of
you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

How am I supposed to be strong when
everyone around me doesn't understand? This was my question going into high
school. I knew the whole thing about getting into a good crowd of friends so
that I wouldn't do anything bad. I wasn't worried though. I knew what I
believed and thought I could talk to anyone about my faith.

I ended up finding a friend who was
a year older than me and was crazy and outgoing like I was. With a few friends
from middle school, we all instantly connected. We did everything together.
These friends were just what I needed to fit in and feel like I wasn't an
outsider at school.

Over the course of my first two
years in high school I felt that I didn't need to tell people about God because
they should have heard about him already. I started to act like some of the
girls that I was hanging out with. I never denied I knew
him, but I did NOTHING to further God's kingdom in my school. I was learning
ways to share my faith, yet I did nothing. I was learning how God could move in
situations that are so unreal, and I still did nothing.

Living through this time of going
through the motions of church, youth group, and volunteering, I felt like my
faith was not authentic. I knew this needed to change, but I didn't know how.

The beginning of my junior year, I
got invited to go to Goldfish again, which was a Christian club at my high
school. I really didn't know anyone and had no idea what it was like, but I knew
it would be a way to meet other Christians. The day I started going we got
these books, Dare To Share, about how to share our faith with different
types of religions. I felt like God was saying to me, "This is where you need
to be." I felt at home with these other students. It was not this automatic
change where I switched friends and had a great time spreading Jesus to
everyone. This was just a stepping-stone into where God was leading me.

The ultimate redemption I felt came
when I had the opportunity and ran with it! This wasn't about me having lots of
friends, it was about me being a light for Jesus in my school, no matter what
ridicule I had to deal with. At
the beginning of this year, I decided that something needed to change at our
school with this Christian club. Two other friends and I got together to make
the club something bigger. Throughout the year we have had about 20 students,
which coming from about 4 is a big difference. Since I go to a public school,
they don't let us advertise at all. But, through this I have been challenged to
tell students in my classes to come join us!

I had thought my high school years
would be easy and I could just get out as fast as possible. I was not looking
for God to go before me like He did and open up doors of opportunity. Thinking
only of my popularity left me at nothing. Bringing God to my friends at school
has brought them hope for the future and a smile to my face.

"We are told to let our light shine, and if it
does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire
cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine. "

-D.L. Moody