How to Be Thankful for Teenagers: A Teacher’s Tale
Five years ago, one boy named L. threw his detention slip in my face. “This is crap,” he screamed, “and I am NOT accepting it!”
Three years ago, a kid named A. took a pic of my backside as I was bent over helping his classmate and shared the photo with his friends as if it were a dirty magazine.
Last year I stopped a hallway fist fight between two siblings who continued to scream the most R-rated obscenities I’d ever heard before even as administrators dragged them down the hall.
As a junior high English teacher, I’ve spent thousands of hours with 12- to 15-year-olds, so I fully understand why some people claim that teenagers are the worst. They’re smelly, vulgar, disrespectful, and just plain annoying much of the time.
But honestly, I am so thankful I get to be in their presence.
From Burden to Blessing
This wasn’t always the case, however. My first year at my current school, I was in such culture shock from my students that I experienced regular anxiety attacks before the first bell. I wanted out. I wanted to run away. I wanted to wake up from the nightmare and prayed God would rescue me like He rescued the Israelites from Egypt. Save, me, Lord – from teenagers!
But over time, He helped me to see this generation as He sees them, and instead of feeling trapped, I began feeling inspired.
What if they need me? What if God placed me in their lives for a reason? What if I could somehow point them to Jesus in the short time we have together?
What first felt like a burden slowly turned into a blessing.
Remaining Thankful by Embracing Opportunity
I’ll be the first to admit I have not yet mastered a perfectly positive attitude, and some days are definitely harder than others. But I work at remaining thankful by acknowledging the challenges of being around teenagers and reframing them as opportunities. For example:
I’m thankful I get to be around young people who don’t know Jesus (yet). Before teaching, every teenager I knew was from a Christian family, so while they weren’t perfect, they were (mostly) pleasant. That’s nice, but the Gospel can’t spread if believers only surround themselves with other believers. The salt must get out of the salt shaker, so to speak, so how wonderful it is that I get to surround myself with lost souls. Even if I can’t openly share Jesus with them, I can still pray for their salvation.
I’m thankful I get to introduce them to the concept of grace. Teenagers make a lot of mistakes. They miss deadlines, lose homework, make messes, and hurt feelings. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, I get to expose them to the freedom I have in Christ by giving them grace, offering second chances, and forgiving them even when they aren’t sorry. They still face consequences for their actions, but in my classroom, they experience what it’s like to have the fresh starts they don’t deserve.
I’m thankful I get to surprise them with God’s love. Unfortunately, many teenagers expect the adults in their lives to let them down. They’re familiar with abandonment, betrayal, abuse, and conditional love. I get to treat them differently. Instead of insults, I can give them encouragement. Instead of apathy, I can give them attention. Instead of anger, I can give them kindness. And whenever it becomes too difficult for me to love them in my own strength, I can step aside and let God love them through me.
They’re waiting for you!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years with teenagers, it’s that they are thirsty for the love of God. They can’t name it, explain it, or understand it, but they feel an emptiness in their souls, and they are longing for something (Someone!) to make them feel whole.
What if they need you? What if God placed you in their lives for a reason? What if you could somehow point them to Jesus in the short time you have together – at the grocery store? The drive-through? The movie theater? The mall?
When you look past their phone addictions and ridiculous slang to see the person God made in His image, you too will be grateful you get to be the one to point them to Jesus today.
Meet Emily E. Ryan
Emily E. Ryan is a minister’s wife, mom of four, and junior high English teacher who understands the challenge of balancing the heaviness of life with the holiness of the Lord. She is a regular contributor to Guideposts devotionals, including Mornings with Jesus, and is the author of Who Has Your Heart? and Guilt-Free Quiet Times. Emily and her family live in Texas, but you can avoid the heat and humidity by visiting her online at emilyeryan.com.
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
One Comment
Elizabeth
I taught high school for over sixteen years. While teenagers can be challenging, there is something wonderful about them as well!