nearly 29

Now that I’m leaving my 28’s and moving on into a new season (of unknown goodness), what are the things I would tell a younger generation?

Certainly, connecting with the younger generation is another ball park. It is like a cultural difference; there’s so much we didn’t face that is now their normality. You never think that you are becoming irrelevant, but, indeed the teens are certainly living in a different time than we. Things like sexting and the existence of hardcore porn with such easy access were never apart of my generation — in those years we were lucky to have a mobile phone, and “back then” we didn’t really do MMS. We were in the exploding years of online chat like ICQ, and most of us started off using the internet with dial up. If we didn’t have two phone lines, no one could call the house while someone was connected to the internet. So, pictures and downloading or sending visuals were took a lot longer, and Skype/Viber didn’t really become so mainstream till today — where wifi is the usual way of connecting, toddlers master iPads games, and multiple access points to the internet, all day every day! There’s nothing wrong — it’s the unavoidable tide of being part of a society that’s very fast paced. And you can still win through this. You can still come out stronger, purer, better, while taking advantage of the best that society has to offer.

You, who are younger than me, have the greatest challenge ever in the area of purity. I’m not saying every young person is obsessed about looking at immoral pictures of sex. It’s just that people will spring on your innocence and they have no qualms with taking your purity away because it doesn’t matter to them; there is no value to virginity. There’s no value to keeping your eyes fixed on innocent things. Once you begin the journey of giving away your purity, your heart hardens. There is no other way. So, beware. To journey well, you need a soft heart. It’s worth maintaining, with the help of our perfect helper, the Spirit.

These days, when I walk past night clubs and bars with queues, it hits me like the reality version of speed dating with no adjudicator; no one to pull out the red light and call a stop when something isn’t right. Men will leave you, women will cheat you; nobody is there to draw a line or call for wisdom: everything is permitted. You will go into situations, for you are now a young adult, where you will have to make some choices about how far you want to go. You now have the power to travel around the world, find a job, make life happen — all on your own.

There are things still worth pursuing, in the midst of all the fun of becoming an adult. One day you will buy a house, get married, think about raising children.

Your character will always be important. How you handle honesty will always matter. You want to be a person of your word, being trustworthy, keeping accounts and managing your decisions, temper, finances, emotions, the way you treat your friends, the way you keep someone’s confidence.

Your prayer life must stay strong. Your connection to God will enable you to hear him better, clearer and faster. Remember God can tell you anything he wants, in any amount of detail. He will speak to you about your life, he will tell you future events. He will correct you when you need it.

Your desire for true humility will safeguard your heart and life, keeping you from the snares of life.

Your generosity and vision to feed the hungry and give to the poor. Keep doing this, for God looks after those who look after the poor. Don’t give mindlessly or be ripped off by by false advertising. Your money is your money; instead, give to eternal realms. Be wise and invest into things that really touch people with the power of God.

Finally, be strong and courageous in the power of the Lord! He will guide you and keep you. You have many things to achieve, many exploits to make, many people to meet, many encounters to have with a tangible God. Set yourself up in a way that you can look back at your 20s and say I’m glad to have lived it. There’s more for me ahead. I gave myself a good foundation because I trust the Lord. He owns my life. He is the adventure.