Living 1 Timothy 4:12

For the past few weeks I have struggled with who I am--well, age-wise that is!
Am I a student? Nope. But I do live in a college-town with college people.
Am I a child? Errr. . . I don't think so.
Am I an adult? Yes. . . but, then again, I can't even buy alcohol yet, soooooo. . .
Am I treated like an adult? Well, yeah.
Am I doing adult things? YES. I am doing things many adults never comprehend doing or knowing or wanting to know.

So here's what I am: a young, hard-working girl (note: not woman yet--still too young for that!) who is living and breathing by 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in faith and in purity."
It's hard to maintain purity when you have to be really open and honest about the things of this world and the many sinful behaviors that our society condones. It's a challenge to love and serve donors, coworkers, bosses, etc. It's hard for me to maintain the balance of "not letting anyone look down on me" for my pride's sake vs. "not letting anyone look down on me" for the glory of the Lord. And I've failed miserably on this point! It's hard for me to fail and not get angry at myself so I strive to avoid failure altogether, though that's awesome for the donors' sake, it's not awesome for my own well-being or the longevity of my happiness at my job. We all need to fail sometime, we need mercy, we need room to breathe and grow, we learn from failure, Christ spent His time on this earth with "failures." So I need to lighten up.
Speech. Conduct. Faith. Purity. Everything from a smile on my face when it's butt-early in the morning and I walk in that door and clock in, a cheerful heart, a loving spirit, joyful speech, laughter, a will to learn and do, etc. I'm learning as I go. It's definitely a different setting but it is also incredibly fun!! And I do absolutely love it!!

P.S. January is flying, flying by. Where'd it go?? I hope your 2012 has been awesome so far and has been full of fresh starts. Isn't it exciting to see what it will bring??? ;)