To Those in Middle School

Dear Middle Schooler,

Do not lose hope. 

The adventure is only beginning, after all. Your hands are not used to roughness and you are still weak. But do not lose hope. Work the dough in your hands, stretch and fold. Listen to the bluebirds sing and sit in silence. Then stand up again and get back to work. It's time to move forward.

But grasp the fact that you cannot do this on your own. You are not strong enough and you will never be -- but God is. He is your strength and your stronghold. The trees started as saplings but they trusted in Him, letting the rain pour and the sun shine. They bent and touched the dirt over the weight of sorrows and trials. Their limbs to the ground.

But God pulled them through. 

They behold his glory and sing songs of praise. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! He is faithful. He is faithful when we are not. He is good. 

So, dear middle schooler, do not lose hope. You will hurt, you will cry. You'll lie face down in the dirt with nothing but mud on your hands and rain in your hair. Do not lose hope for He will gather you up and the sun will rise. You'll awaken with eyes warmed and heart stronger. He is your strength. He is your Hope. 

And hope has won. 

Love, Cally 


Dear Middle schooler, 

Not too long ago, a friend of my mom's asked me how I had liked middle school. "I liked it," I said. I was lying through my teeth.

Middle school was horrific for me, at the beginning, at least.  I was a nervous wreck with no sense of style and hardly any close friends. On top of that, I wouldn't talk to anyone about what I was feeling (which was a lot). 

Despite my awkwardness, God was faithful, and not too long after the start of sixth grade I met my best friend in history class. Turns out, she had just lost her elementary school best friend to a group of "cooler" girls. And just like that,  we both had a best friend. 

Thanks to her, middle school went by so much more smoothly. And God blessed me with some really great other friends, too, both from church and school. I wasn't as alone as I thought I would be. And in the grand scheme of things, middle school wasn't that bad. I mean, yeah, I was still awkward and I didn't quite know who I was yet, but after I had people I could talk to and people who could encourage me in everyday life, school wasn't nearly as scary. 

My advice: talk to new people. Yeah, it's really scary to make new friends, and there are bound to be some awkward moments, but once you reach out to people, once you find those close friends who won't leave you for anything, you have all you need to get through those three little years.

Also, find a mentor. Whether it's your mom, your older sister, your youth pastor, or your youth pastor's wife, it's so good to have someone to talk to. Once you get those confusing feelings out, you'll see that maybe they weren't such a big deal after all. 

And in the end, I promise it will be the good parts that stand out, not the bad ones.

Love, Mary Shelley 

Dear Middle Schooler, 

Hey, so you’re in middle school?

Well, that means things are rough. I don’t know if you realize it yet, but, looking back, you’ll see 

it. If I could say one thing to myself just a few years ago it would, without a doubt, be this:

Stop being consumed with what others think about you, and see in you, and say about you. Don’t allow them to put you in a box. Your true identity is safe in the hands of your Savior, the greatest Friend, and the One who’ll be there long after these friends have faded to distant memory.

Don’t be scared to stand up for what you know is right. Don’t be afraid to distance yourself from “friends” who aren’t being true friends to you. What can these small-minded, middle school girls do to you? Nothing. Don’t forget to set your mind and heart on things above. This time will pass in the blink of an eye.

That being said (oops I’m adding more to my one point), take your time. Don’t try to grow up too fast. Be present. Be who, and what, and where God has called you to be now, and live it to the fullest. Embrace it. These all sound cliché. Ugh. I don’t mean it that way. I mean- really mean- it. Use the time well. Cultivate good habits- it’ll help you out later on (aka me right now).

And don’t forget to focus on loving people. Always. 

Olivia K //

Dear Middle schooler, 

Do not be terrified. I promise that change is going to be a large part of going through middle school, but it will not be as bad as many people claim it is. 

This is one of the many changes you will experience during your life. You never think you're ready for the next step, but it all turns out okay in the end. 

Middle school will be hard emotionally in some aspects, because you begin to grasp and understand a lot of why certain things happen the way they do. A lot of things will be brought to reality and the hard as well as the happy parts of growing up will affect you.

Middle school is a time where you can put aside your immaturities and look to Christ in the midst of it. Continue to run after God and be an example to those both older and younger than you of a child of God who is passionate about serving Christ. 

God will continue to pull you through, even if middle school may seem hard at times. The shock of the reality of the nearing future and adulthood will seem overwhelming at times, and high school becomes even more stressful. But in all of that, God is good, and he uses these times. 

You will have tons of fun experiencing once in a lifetime experiences with other people your age, and I promise, you will eventually find friends that you can connect with, all in God's timing. 

And remember, the awkward moments you may experience in middle school probably will not be remembered by the time you reach my age. Those little incidents seem insignificant compared to eternity. 

Cling to the truth about who you are in Christ, and use this time to mature in your faith, because it is just a stage. God has beautiful things in store, friends that he has in His plan for you to interact with, that you probably have no idea about right now; I sure didn't. I had no idea how blessed I would be with many of the people I just met in the past twelve months. 

Love, Lauren