I’ve read what they are saying about you. They say you are lazy, self-centered, and incapable of handling the task that lies before you, namely adulthood.
For the record, I think they’re wrong. I see you trying, but I must admit I’ve doubted you. My interaction with a handful of your friends recently caused me to question the whole, so I did some research. What I found caused me to hang my head.
We did this to you.
We handed you everything, then said, “Go get it.”
We made life easy, then said, “Get tough.”
We carried you, then said, “Make your own way.”
We gave you everything, then said, “Pay your dues.”
We told you everything you did was wonderful, then said, “Prove yourself.”
We set our lives in orbit around yours, then said, “Respect is earned.”
WE obeyed YOU, then said, “Remember your place.”
We took you out of the world, then said, “Go conquer it.”
No wonder you struggle! Right now, you are on a learning curve so steep it makes me dizzy just to think about it.
Maybe you feel it. Maybe you’ve risked a glance down and realized just how far above solid ground you are.
If so, be encouraged!
A generation ahead of you, I’ve watched you grow up. A mother, youth minister’s wife, and public school teacher, I’ve helped raise you. I know who you really are and what you can do.
The truth is, you aren’t lazy, self-centered, or incapable, and if you are ill-equipped, that’s mostly our fault. No different than the rest of us would be in your shoes, you are simply doing your best to make sense of the real world after being raised in another.
You can prove your critics wrong. I know you can! We may have limited your experience, but we cannot limit your potential.
Strive. Learn. Grow. Succeed.
As you do, please be patient with the rest of us. Having only recently recognized our folly, we’re on a learning curve, too. It’s hard to admit that we’ve fallen short, especially when we tried so hard to get it right, and the frustration we express to you may actually be frustration we feel with ourselves and one another.
Won’t you teach us by example as we all bear with one another in love (Eph. 4:2) and learn to work together?
With much love and the utmost respect,
Angela Sanders