Young(er Than Me) and "Without" Love

On one of my other blogs, I read a post from a teacher that talked about her middle school girls. She found out that one young student believed that since she did not have a boyfriend, she had no chance at love. That broke my heart because I remember thinking that earlier this year, and I’m twenty-one.

Now, I know the routine answers: Having a boyfriend won’t fix things, only complicate them, and, Well, you don’t need a guy! You need to take time to find out who you are! Yeah, it’s all so easy to say. And honestly after hearing it for most of my life, I have even come to believe that being single is not a living hell (actually, it’s not bad at all; it truly is a blessing). But then I hear something like what I just mentioned and I can’t help thinking: I know how that feels. And she is too young to be feeling that way! These are the thoughts that lead girls to act out in ways that they come to regret (and that we condemn) later on. Now I’m not saying we need to turn a blind eye to promiscuity or the likes, however, we also should not simply look at them and say, “You know you need to stop” without explaining to them why. Without letting them know that their chances at love are not shot because they are a preteen without a boyfriend! Seriously!?

I don’t know; this is all nice and pretty sounding and tomorrow we can all move on and pick up another cause for a few minutes or hours. I know there are “bigger’ things—you know what, I refuse to think that way. And I honestly do not know what to do except pray. But if that’s all that I can do for now, then that’s where I’ll start.

I’m not trying to start a movement or anything; I would be surprised if many reading this took this too seriously. But this is something that ruffles my little feathers, so I guess I needed to let it out. Plus I know I’ll be more likely to continue my prayers if I have some sort of accountability (again, I don’t assume this blog’s being read around the world, but putting on the internet will help me hold myself accountable).

I know this may sound trite to some, but whoever reads this, if you could just take a moment to pray for this young lady as well as all the girls who are surrounded by such foolishness. It definitely won’t hurt.