Ah, junior high… the age of prepubescent anxiety, awkward growth spurts, and weird feelings between, well, everyone.

I am lucky enough to have started an internship at the middle school ministry that shaped who I am. (God is so good, am I right?) When I told people that this was the path I felt called to, I was faced with the same question: “Why middle school?”

Just like most people, I look back on those transitional years and think, “ew.” I was an overly emotional, extremely sassy, and abundantly clueless human. I had no idea of the real world and was pretty selfish. Middle school was also the source of a lot of pain, crushes on my science teacher, and confusion. Simply put, I struggled… big time.

Once I hit high school, and continued to realize how God works, I recognized that God does everything for a reason. All that pain was utilized not for God’s ill will against me, but to help others. God broke my heart in ways that allowed Him to fill the cracks. I can pour out the love of God that was granted me when I needed it the most.

From the moment my church allowed, I began volunteering in the ministry. Since then, I have been camp counselor, “Momma Bear,” Worship Leader, and a friend to hundreds of middle school students. By the grace of God, I have walked with many students in every walk of life.

I am able to love on them, through the love of God, in the ways that I remember needing it. (And, it is kinda the coolest thing ever)

Statistics argue that most Christians start their walk before they turn between the ages of 4 and 14. Before a person can legally vote, they have the opportunity to change their lives through the love, grace, and forgiveness that is a relationship with God. Watching those relationships and fostering them with all that I am is beyond rewarding.

Of course, it is about something so much bigger than my feelings. Jesus has the opportunity to enter the hearts and minds of the next generation. And believe me, they get it. They are mature enough (contrary to belief) to ask powerful questions and make the decision for themselves. Junior high students deserve exceedingly more credit than they are given.

I see it every weekend. I live life with them. We awkwardly dance to high-energy worship music and then figure out “Jesus.”

Thanks to this opportunity, I have a couple hundred more little brothers and sisters in Christ. Though they are 12, they are 1 Timothy 4:12 in every single way: “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”