Life Unscripted

Dear _______________(insert name here),

Life is a roller coaster, isn’t it? Things are going great and then whoosh! A 200 foot drop that takes your breath away followed by a corkscrew in the opposite direction. And there’s so many things that battle for your immediate attention. School. Friends. Boys. Dates. Jobs. Projects. Hobbies. Music. Movies. MTV. Chores. Siblings. Sports. Church. Staying busy is ok, but don’t let things rob you of your time. Make wise choices with how you spend your time. Once spent, you will never get that precious time back. It doesn’t seem like it now, but time flies by in warp speed once you walk across the stage, shake someone’s hand and get your diploma. Life slams you in the face and you will find yourself wondering why you couldn’t wait to be 18 and out of the house doing your own thing.

School. What seems like a royal pain in the butt is what will determine the course of your life. You won’t find a decent paying job unless you devote time to furthering your education. Mama was right. Get a good night’s sleep and make sure you pay attention in class. Homework isn’t optional. Laziness now won’t pay off when you’re an attorney in the future who didn’t do your homework on your case and get made a fool in front of the entire courtroom.

Friends. Be extremely careful who’s your BFF. You ARE who your friends are. If they’re known to the rest of school as liars, sluts and those who don’t give a …. (well, you get the picture) Well honey, guess who also gets to wear that same name tag – Y.O.U. Reputations aren’t easily changed. Trust me from experience. And those girls who talk about Rachel behind her back, they’re talking about you when your not there too.

Boys. Dates. Sex. Oh my! (That’s inspired by The Wizard of Oz in case you were wondering.) I could sit here all day on this topic. Mainly because that will be your biggest struggle in high school. Boys are going to be your Achilles heel and will completely confuse and ruin you if you’re not careful. Chances are, you won’t be careful because when some hottie comes up to you and asks your name, everything in you melts, including your sense of judgment. I may sound totally old school and this may be ratched, but don’t say yes to every guy who comes your way. You are beautiful. Classy. Unique. Special. Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

He may seem nice at first, but many times it’s just an act to get in your pants. Been there, experienced that. Too many times. They tell you all these things you want to hear, a lot of it you hear from your favorite chick flicks. “I’ll love you forever if you just give me the chance. I’ll never hurt you baby. I love you, girl. If you love me you’ll….” Girl, please. I’m begging you, don’t go there. You are setting yourself up to be hurt big time. You’ll give in to his pleadings or jump overboard yourself and find yourself scrubbing yourself in the shower bawling your eyes out begging God to forgive you for what you did. Your pillow cases will be stained with all the tears you’ll cry over this guy who isn’t even thinking about you anymore. He’s moved on to the next chick.

Disclaimer: Love is not sex. Love is not what you see in movies. Love is most likely not what you’re feeling right now. If you want to know what REAL love is, read John 3:16 and Corinthians 13:4-8. Seriously, go do it. It’s worth your time.

Don’t have sex. DON’T have SEX. Don’t do it. There’s a pretty cool verse in Song of Songs 3:5 in the bible that says “..do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” Let that sink in and be your life verse. God created love to be a beautiful thing – in it’s proper form. If you give yourself away now in a moment of passion, what do you have to give your husband one day? Leftover mangled pieces of your heart? Sounds like a crappy wedding gift to me.

Turn off MTV. It will pollute your mind. This is not what life was designed to be. It’s not your sex life. It’s so much more than that. MTV used to be music television (M.T.V.) and not all this Girl Code, Guy Code, Teen Mom 2 reality tv that’s nothing more than a free pass telling you to do whatever the heck you want with zero consequences because it’s your life. God has a greater plan for your life than that. Jeremiah 29:11 says the Lord knows His plans for your life. Do you have a clue what that plan is? Do you even want to know?

Hobbies. Sports. Jobs. Siblings. Music. These things will mean more to you than you can imagine now. Find something you enjoy and pursue it. It will give you purpose and something to be passionate about. Work hard wherever you’re employed. Let it be more than just a job to put a few bucks in your pocket. You are your siblings may hate each other now but they’ll be your best friends in a few years. When hard times come, they’ll be your rock to lean on. Love them. Even when they drive you nuts. Be careful what music you listen to. It will mess with your emotions whether you believe it or not.

Church. Don’t stop reading here. I intentionally left this for last because in all honestly, this is what always gets last dibs. Church wasn’t designed as just something to do when there’s nothing else to do. God desires a relationship with you. He’s not taking attendance when you’re there or you’re not there. Yes He speaks to you at home, but as Hebrews 10:25 says, don’t neglect getting together with other people who believe the same way you do. Or if you don’t believe, you need to believe. If you only knew that your relationship with God would be the only thing holding you together when life falls apart before your eyes. He’s not just your 911 call, He’s your strength and your peace. He’s the only one who will never judge you for being you. He knows your full potential and will show you the plan He has for your life if you’ll sit still long enough to listen.

Log off Facebook, Snapchat, Instgram, Kik, and Twitter long enough to sit quietly with Him. It’s ok to turn off your phone. God sends people in your life to warn you and help you but you’re so stubborn that you push so many away. Sweet girl, you’ve got to start accepting help and recognizing the blessings God has placed strategically around you.

Live boldly for Christ. That’s one thing you’ll look back when you’re 25 and regret terribly. Don’t let these years slip by without you passionately pursuing Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Tell your friends about Him. You can’t keep trying to live pleasing your flesh and doing these things that are toxic to you. Let go of the mess and accept the message God is trying to speak through you. You won’t regret a day you live for Him but you will painfully hate the moments you lived only for yourself and failed Him.

Life is short, baby. Breathe slowly and take deep sips each day from the Word of God. Cherish the time you have to make a difference because you won’t always have this sphere of influence.

Live Life Unscripted,

Brittany ❤

A.K.A. The future, wiser, 25-year-old you.

A.K.A. The girl who wished she lived differently in high school.

4/5/14