In November of 2008, I went out to California with several people from our gathering to go visit Rebekah, who’s at the seminary in Pasadena. At first, I was going to go a few months earlier but it ended up not working out. I was very happy just to be able to go, so the delay didn’t matter, I thought. As it turned out, I went within a few days of my thirteenth birthday.

A few days passed and it was finally my birthday. Pastor John, Aunt Barbara, and Aunt Amy, who traveled to California as well, decided to take me out to eat and I really enjoyed it. During this time, I was starting to wonder what being thirteen would be like. When I got back to the place we were staying, I started asking questions to Rebekah, the friend I mentioned above. I asked her about when she was my age how she coped with the “teenaged thing”. She sat down with me and started giving me some wonderful advice about living those years the right way. She told me that if I would listen to my parents, and understand, no matter how much I disagreed with them, I would do well. Keeping a good attitude, she said, is crucial during this time because it will determine how the adult years will go. She told me about using moderation and how important that is to be godly.

As she was telling me these things, I really felt how important these things were; it went in. When I got home, I started putting those two things and all the others into practice even more than before and it has made a difference in my life!

Jeremiah