Thursday, October 21, 2010

What I wish I knew at 13

I was contacted to participate in the Dove Self-Esteem Movement by answering the question, "What I Wish I Knew at 13."  To be honest, it was a tough question to answer.  13 was 13 years ago and seems like forever ago!

 At 13 I was attending Perimeter Christian School here in Atlanta. I didn't have that many worries besides school, friends, and boys.  Oh and maybe my sisters.  I do have 4 sisters (and 1 brother), so a few disagreements happened here and there ;)  But, back to my point.  So to answer this question I would have to say I wouldn't change anything.  I had the most Godly mother and father who allowed me to learn from my mistakes.  They loved me, disciplined me, and taught me that Jesus died for me and that He will love me forever. If I changed anything about my past, I wouldn't have been able to learn from my mistakes.  I made a lot of mistakes. Thankfully, I am an open book and talked with my mom and sisters about each issue I was dealing with.  They gave me godly wisdom and advice. Now, I obviously didn't take their advice each time, but I did learn.

Learning from mistakes is how we change. If we never make any mistakes we won't see our need for Jesus.  And this is HUGE for me. I have always struggled with seeing my need for Jesus. At 13 I was so focused on my reputation and what people thought of me, that I rarely saw my utter and desperate need for Jesus.  I would turn to the Lord each time something bad or sad happened, but the in between times, it was all about me.  As I made mistakes and grew in my walk with the Lord, I started to see that life wasn't all about me. At 13 this is very difficult to see.  We feel that the world totally and completely revolves around us.  We also feel that each time something upsetting happens that the world is going to end.  So not true!  If only we could see that at 13, God is shaping us into who He wants us to be.  And to be able to face that head on, with the confidence that Jesus loves us, would be a great challenge to set for 13 year old girls.

Now I couldn't find a picture of me when I was 13, but I did find these...for your entertainment :)

This is me with my mom, and 2 of my sisters. (Dani on the left and Claire on the right).  Sweet night gown mom ;)

This is me with my other sister, Laura. She's got a great grip on me and I'm not worried one bit that she's going to drop me. Also, Laura was one of the cutest kids ever!

Me with Dani (left) and Claire (right) again. 

All 4 of the older girls!  Claire is holding me. Then Dani and then Laura.

This is us with my great grandmother. She passed away last year at 108.  She was an amazing woman!  She prayed for us everyday and left us a wonderful heritage.  I'm the one on the far left. The one with the major thunder thighs.  Like our outfits??  Haha!

Ok, skip a few years...getting closer to 13.  This is my mom's side. 4 generations.  Little did we know that we would have 5 generations alive at one time! I'm the shorty on the right in the little house on the praire dress ;)

Fast forward another few years and we have 5 girls!  Ahh!  Rachel is the baby and she was like our little baby doll!  I'm the one holding her :)  The other sister is Laura.

Again, getting closer to 13. I'm probably 9 right here.  I'm wearing a matching Jasmine t-shirt and hat.  Soo cool. I probably had jean shorts on too ;)

I'm the one in the front with the saylor outfit on.  This was my mom's favorite spot to take our picture...sun in the eyes every time! 

And look!  I found one of when I was 13!  We were an entire family at this point.  When I was 8 (I'm the fourth girl) my parents decided to have another baby (Rachel).  Then they didn't want Rachel to be like an only child so they had another one! They got a boy on the 6th try.  (I'm the one in the demin shirt with the red turtle neck underneath...that shirt had a christmas scene stitched on it.  Very cool!)

And here I am today with MR.P. I have lots left to learn and constantly have to remind myself to rely on the Lord instead of myself.  Thankful for every trial I went through to help me learn.  I am excited about the journey I have in front of me!

2 comments:

Hank and Anna Uzzell said...

love all the pictures, Beth of your sweet family! got your message yesterday, would love to catch up SOON!

Jennie said...

LOVED this Beth!I loved looking at the old pictures :)