Confidence In Christ: A Devotional For Teen Girls

Legacy

Martin Luther King Jr.

A simple Baptist Preacher with a dream. A dream that "one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." and that "[His] four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Today he's remembered as one of the greatest heros of the civil rights movement.

C.S. Lewis.

An academic from England who became a renowned, deep thinking apologist and writer. And I mean really deep (If you've read any of his books, you know what I mean). He was raised in a Christian home, turned to atheism after the death of his mother, and than after years of academic searching and reasoning, turned back to God, realizing the evidence for God's existence.

He went on to become one of the most influential and well read Christian apologists to this day.

Among these more historical examples, there are also modern examples.

Bethany Hamilton.

A young surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack, yet, didn't let that stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming a professional surfer.

Early Contemporary Christian bands and singers such as Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys, and DC Talk, who were on the front lines of creating Christian themed rock, pop, rap, hip hop, etc.

Alex and Brett Harris.

Two teenage boys who wrote the bestselling book Do Hard Things and it's follow up, Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are. Through their blog and books, they started the Rebelution, challenging the social norm of low expectations towards teenagers.

Looking at people's lives such as the aforementioned is inspiring for me. Ordinary people with fairly ordinary lives, accomplishing not so ordinary things. Each small piece, contributing to a larger puzzle of life. Each chapter, adding more depth and beauty to the story of humanity. I may not know all of the details, but I know that someday, I want to be someone like these great, admirable people. I want to leave a legacy. I believe that's something that a lot of people want. To be voice among the crowd, a change of tempo in a song, and a spark that starts a fire.

To quote the old 2011 movie, Lemonade Mouth "I don't want to be remembered as just another face in a yearbook."

If you're anything like me, you might be wondering exactly how you can leave your mark on the world. One thing that I've found, is that if you have a dream, you can start working towards it right now - even if the end goal seems out of sight. I want to be an author and songwriter someday, so I've already begun writing books and songs. I've published two books, Teen Impact: Look No Further, the Bible Has Your Answers and Know Jesus, Know Peace. Furthermore, I've been working on writing fiction novels for a couple of years now, though none are published to this date. I also have a plethora of songs that I've written.

Whatever you want to do, you can start now. Either through physically doing something such as writing or training towards a particular goal, such as reading science books in order to someday become a great scientist.

Next, stay faithful in small things. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." - Luke 16:10. As we make goals and dream dreams, it's important not to neglect the opportunities that God has given you right here, right now. Sometimes the small things, like reaching out to a new student at school, or helping an elderly lady cross the street can seem small to us, but can be enormous blessings to someone else. If you're faithful with what God has given you, I believe that he'll give you opportunities to make a difference on an even grander scale.

Furthermore, pray about God's will for your life. If your dreams are in accordance with God's will, He'll open the right doors when the time is right. If it's God's will for your life, He put that dream inside of you. He created you in such a way that you're capable of fulfilling that dream. Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Don't doubt yourself, but believe that God has equipped you to be all that you're meant to be.

Lastly, never feel that God can't use you. God has a history of using ordinary people for extraordinary things. He chose a young peasant girl to be the mother of Jesus. He chose Moses, an inelegant speaker, to lead a nation out of slavery.

You can be the change that you want to see, if you just keep trusting God, staying within His will, and starting right where you are.

Discussion Question - How do you believe God's moving you to leave a legacy right now? How can you make your mark where He has you?