We Were Teenagers Figuring Out the World

We've got this built in desire to figure things out.

When my friends and I were in early high school we started getting into music and poetry. Deciphering deep song lyrics and coming up with our own flowery descriptions of life situations were among our pastimes. We were aspiring teenage beat-poets, deep in our brooding over the misery and anguish of middle class urban life. And for all the criticism that should accompany that reality, the ironic thing is that it was just that: reality. For all the artifice that teenagers get lost in, it's a 100% true experience for us at the moment of happening. And that's the cool thing about teenage life: it's all you've got. What you're going through is the world to you. That makes it significant. And it makes it essential to figure out the world.

The guys and I would go through our CDs, the post-grunge, mid-alternative, pre-acoustic revival, coffee-drinker music. I think I started liking coffee because it complemented music with its rustic scent, and only later appreciated the taste. We would study lyrical structure, and subtexts, and bring up different songs as the object of debate. At the end of it all, it didn't matter if we nailed the deeper meaning of the lyrics. We continued to appreciate the songs, regardless of our conclusion. What made life meaningful, enjoyable -- and sometimes, bearable -- was going through the experience with others.

One thing that doesn't change after teenage life is the desire to figure life out. We adults seem to be better at accepting life's givens, post-21. But the truth is, everyone, in some way or another, struggles to find direction. It's a daily thing. It's a momentary thing.

I wonder if it's too daring to say that we don't need to figure it all out. There's this Psalm where David says God's Word is like a lamp to his feet, a guide to keep him from stumbling. It's not some raging inferno, or stadium floodlight that gives crisp definition to what was once obscure. It's a lamp. It gives you just enough vision to get your bearing straight, walk on and leave the rest up to faith, trust.

I find it interesting that God's Word isn't some crystal ball that tells the future with certainty. I think that's the difference between Christianity and the pervading culture of spirituality in the world at large. People want complete certainty and assurance -- not faith. Anything that gets them some answers ASAP. But faith presupposes that you don't have things figured out, that you need Someone who does. Faith is the both the bane and solution of our trust issues.

I'm learning to take comfort in not figuring everything out. But I hold fast to God. I cling to His Word. And I journey with people -- friends, community -- who make the process of figuring things out comforting, when the world sees it as a burden. May we grow to trust God, His Word, and His people.

We were teenagers trying to figure out the world. And in many ways, we still are.



"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105 (NIV