The day this article is printed in the paper will be the first day of the new school year.

 Many kids have been dreading this day and have more than complained about the impending doom that it will unleash upon their lives for the next nine months.   They do not like the people or the “drama” that being around those people cause in their lives.  Summer was a chance to escape all that stuff, but now they have to go back into that world they have been freed of for the last three months.  But for some, school presents a chance for youth to be with their friends and share in activities together.  Band, sports, classes, and clubs present kids with the opportunity to strengthen friendships and do something that they really enjoy.  For others it is a nightmare, a literal nightmare to go back to school.  The teasing, feelings of inferiority, and marginalization is enough to make even the toughest kid cringe in fear. 

For all the youth going back to school I would like to offer a word of encouragement.  You are each an original masterpiece!  There is no one else like you on the face of the earth.  God created each one of you especially unique and for a purpose.  He loves you so much that he gave Jesus in order to have a chance at a relationship with you.  You are worth one Jesus to God. 

So when you feel overwhelmed with the coursework given by your teachers, or when you feel like no one else in the world cares about what you do or who you are….remember that you are an original masterpiece, created by the God of the universe!

In Christ,
Seth Filburn,
Youth Pastor
Carrollton 1st UMC