Today’s perspective comes from Jared Hallford, a student at West High School. Jared shares that purpose and mission can come out of the boredom of quarantine when we recognize God is in control.
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Life during quarantine for teens, or at least for me, has been pretty dull. For the most part, the other teens and I have been stuck at home, just like everyone else. This has led to many of us forming some new habits or participating in random games on social media. I, for example, did a couple of riddles on Instagram where if I got it wrong I had to post it on my story, and my followers would hopefully then respond and act accordingly. However, when it comes to entertainment, it’s mostly limited to whatever we can do on our phones, laptops, or whatever show we are binging on Netflix. Several of us, myself included, have taken to doing daily workouts. For the most part it’s nothing crazy, but enough to keep in shape. On the less fun side though, we are having to take classes online via the Zoom app, or doing assignments that have been posted online by our teachers. I find this quite boring, and most teens will probably agree. So all in all, it’s honestly not that different from everyone else’s lives, except that we’re spending more time on our phones than our parents or the older members of our family.
One of the areas in which us teens are able to grow spiritually is by the amount of time they spend in the Word, talking to God every day. Speaking from experience, a lot of teens, although they might try to live by Christian principles every day, do not read the Word every day, and instead prioritize time for school, sports, or something else. But now, with the inability to leave the house, there is plenty of time in the day to find some for God. Another area where teens can improve in their walk in the faith is by trying to get rid of their worldly obsessions and non-Christian habits. I recognize that it’s hard, and truth be told I haven’t been doing the best job at these, but that’s why it’s a way to grow, and not a continued habit.
One of the ways that I, and many of my friends, are being challenged is by not being able to leave the house. Most teens enjoy the ability to leave the house and go out and see their friends, and even though we might not always do that, having the choice is what makes the difference. But now we are all stuck in our homes, same as everyone else, with the only interactions being with our family members, who are all sick of each other. Due to this, I have had a few extended texting conversations with some friends of mine who are worried or upset by the situation and the resulting regulations. My mindset is that the situation is what it is, and that we teens, and everyone else, should just be patient and trust God that this epidemic will be over soon. That actually leads into the next way that we are being challenged, which is that teens, or at least me, are beginning to have strain put on my faith due to everything that is happening, and how it doesn’t make sense to me. Personally, I can’t see the big picture of His plan, but I have been lucky enough to see some of the small ones. I (or my family, that is) have been one of the lucky few volunteers who were asked to help make and deliver food boxes to those in need. The willingness to serve that I’ve seen out of everyone has been a reassurance that God is still working amidst the current crisis, and that he is still in control.
