Another Installment of Kandis' Soapbox

I'm off on a tangent again, just so you're warned. (Maybe I should rename this blog "Another Tangent"...)

This is mostly aimed toward adults, but anyone can read it. I mean, I don't even know if this will make sense. Just some late night thinking.

Lately, I've noticed a growing trend: people are starting to think less and less of the youth of this generation. They're expecting less from, they're paying less attention to and they're not truly caring about us. Before you gasp and start posting seething comments, let me reassure you: this isn't the case with all people. I happen to go to a church that has amazing leadership that pours into the youth day in and day out. The little ones are their main focus, with teens following at a close second. It's like this in a few places, but the trend has come to my attention this past month as some stuff (that I will not disclose) came to light. I'm not being selfish in this post either. I'm simply stating what I see from the rest of the world. It concerns me. It worries me!

Have you noticed that our elders (in this case, 30+... maybe even 25ish) are beginning to give up on us? I noticed it a few years ago (I was about 12ish, I think.) when an old worship pastor was practicing the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong. He turned to the team saying how much he disliked the line, "I see a generation, rising up to take their place." He had seen too many generations rise and fall and just didn't see it happening with the current one. "WAIT A SECOND!" I wanted to scream, "THAT'S ME YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! I'M PART OF THAT NEXT GENERATION! I'M PART OF THAT GENERATION RISING TO TAKE THE PLACE THAT GOD HAS FOR THEM!" I was a bit furious, as you can imagine. I never told anyone, though. It was like he was expecting us to be like the past generations. He was thinking we'd walk the same path. Did we walk that path? Did we go the wrong way? I'm inclined to say yes. We messed up, guys. We seriously messed up. We turned to drugs and alcohol and anything else that we thought would make us happy.

Look around you, though- there's still a chance for us to turn this thing around. Chances are, you know a young person that's sold out for God. That doesn't mean they're perfect, but they're trying their hardest to follow Jesus. Those are the world changers. The ones that are rising up to take their place.

Listen. I beg you. Listen to someone that's in the midst of this generational war. WE NEED YOU. WE NEED YOU. WE NEED YOU. We need you to have confidence in us. We need you to show us where to go, what to do. We need you to have higher expectations. If you have low expectations, we'll probably reach them, but we won't surpass them. If you raise them, we may not always meet them, but I GUARANTEE we'll try a lot harder to. If you give us chances to prove ourselves, we will. You've got to stop thinking we can't! Believe it or not, we can.

Okay, I'm starting to get preachy... I'll step off my soapbox now. (Or maybe I should rename the blog "Kandis' Soapbox." It's pretty accurate...)