Candid Thoughts from a Christian Teen - Visionary Family Ministries

Candid Thoughts from a Christian Teen

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By RW Rienow, age 15

In thinking about my time, priorities, and relationships, I wrote the following paragraphs…

Do I see signs of disorganization in my life? Yes! Usually, I am on top of things such as school work and being on time to sporting events. But chores is where I fall apart! There are normally things scattered on my dresser and desk, and there are often clothes on the floor in the corner. On Saturdays, I am not that busy, but I am lazy and struggle to get all the vacuuming and mowing done. Family chores should be my first priority but it happens to be my last. I am more worried about getting my schoolwork done than I am being the oldest, and therefore the servant leader, of five siblings. I become irritable if I am late to class or I cannot get a homework assignment done because we have to start chores. Reading, “Has Anyone Seen My Time?” has helped me to realize that spending time with my family and spending the extra fifteen minutes to help mom in the kitchen is more important than whether I get an “A” in rhetoric or in math. Becoming more organized will help me be able to spend extra time helping and being with my family.

The first thing that struck me on how to be more organized was when it said that you need to, “clearly understand your mission.” Jesus understood his mission and that helped him plan out his time more efficiently. I need to understand that my mission at home is to be a loving and caring oldest son and that I should be the first one to start doing chores and the last one to end doing chores. My second application point is to, “understand my own limits.” I need to plan out my time so I give a good amount of time to chores but still give me enough time to finish my secondary priorities such as school and sports. “Setting time aside for my siblings,” is something that I struggle with, and my third application point. The more time I spend with them, the better our relationships will be. Being the oldest means I have the most responsibility. This also means that I have known all the other siblings the longest and therefore should have the best relationship with each of them. Unfortunately, I have good relationships with some and ok relationships with the others. Spending more time with all of them will make all of us happier as a family and happier with one another. These three steps will help me to have great relationships with my siblings and make being the chore leader and not follower my first priority.

I do not expect this to be easy, but understanding my mission, knowing my limits, and setting specific time aside with my siblings will make our relationships grow and give me a more positive attitude while doing chores. But what obstacles will I face? Knowing my limits will be the hardest thing for me to accomplish. I cannot finish all my history homework, do my math, go to Wheaton Academy for two hours, lift weights for an hour, spend two hours on chores, and spend an hour plus with my siblings! What I need to do is start with small goals and work up to bigger goals. Being positive while doing chores has always been a struggle for me, especially when I have a lot of schoolwork to get done. I already spend more “time” with my siblings than the average kid, meaning I am in the same house with them most of the day, because we are homeschooled. But I don’t spend as much one-on-one time with them, time where I am really trying to build our relationship. Understanding my mission, knowing my limits, and spending relationship building time with my siblings, will help me have my first priority be on my family and not on my academics or sports.

Most of all, to see these changes in my life, I need to pray for God to make me more like Christ.