"I'm Not Old Enough"

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 "I can't start a blog! I'm not old enough, I'm not perfect enough, I'm not good enough to teach people."  
  That's how I felt when I first started to think about writing a blog. This is how I felt a week ago. I'm 16. I have social anxiety and can hardly talk to people. Who's going to listen to what I have to say?
  Thankfully, there are tons of amazing young women on Instagram who are younger than me and have blogs or YouTube channels and they are so inspiring to me. There will always be people older than me to look up to, but that doesn't mean I have to wait until I'm as old or experienced as they are. I can write and I love to write. I want to encourage girls and maybe try to get some of you out of the dark place I had to go through a year ago, because that was not fun.
  1 Timothy 4:12 says "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." Paul was talking to Timothy, who was a young preacher probably dealing with older Christians who thought of him as 'too young,' and 'not experienced enough.'
  You might feel the same way. I have four younger siblings and when Nathan (age 8) says something a little crazy, my parents will just say "ok, Nathan" and not argue. Like when he says he saw a horse in the front yard (unlikely). I'm afraid that if I try to share about my own difficult experiences or try to give advice to people, some older person will say “ok, Caitlin,” then turn around and roll their eyes.
  I want to help and I want to share. Yeah, I’m not perfect, I haven’t gone through much and there will be people more broken than me who have gone through worse and call me sensitive or fake or just looking for attention. But that’s ok. I am not doing this because someone told me I’m old enough or broken enough or smart enough. I am doing this because I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to teach and encourage others.
  This is going to be a long journey and not everyone will agree with us, because of our age or background or any other reason. But we have to do this. We have to stand up and we have to make our voices heard. I read somewhere that this will be the last generation of true Christians. If that’s true, then we have to stand up. Stand up, whether you’re thirteen or fifty, and shout this Truth. If we don’t share this, who’s going to know? Who are we going to save by being quiet?
  I’m not telling you to start a blog or a YouTube channel, but to set an example, like Paul said; let’s show people about Christ through our speech, our actions, in our love, our purity and our faith. 1 Timothy 5:21 says “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality,” so let’s do it. Let’s fill our lives with Jesus until it is brimming over the sides and people around us can’t help but notice that we are different. You’re alive and God’s not done with you yet. Maybe today you will have a chance to show someone undeserved mercy, a chance to tell them about our Lord and Saviour.
  If you let your age stop you, what else will you let?

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