You Can Do Hard ThingsSample

Diving In

Growing up in the rainy Pacific Northwest, we didn’t swim a lot. One thing we did learn, though, was that diving boards have a “sweet spot.” If you take a big leap and land on it just right, the diving board will launch you up into the air and down into the pool in a perfect swan dive. You hope. Of course, if you miss the sweet spot, things don’t work out so well. Your body jolts, the board clunks, and you bounce, teeter, and careen into the water. You may even do a belly flop. Do you see the big picture here?

The pool is your future life. The diving board is your present life. The Myth of Adolescence would have you think that now is your time to party beside the pool. But the fact is, you’re already on the diving board.

The whole purpose of the diving board is to launch us, with purpose and precision, into our futures. We will either make a successful dive into adulthood or deliver something closer to a belly flop. What each of us will become later in life largely depends on what we become now. Are we taking that seriously?

At no other time are we better positioned to decide who we will become. Our strength—sharp minds, energetic bodies, and flexible schedules—is our glory. We are not likely to have this same set of strengths ever again. By choosing to use our teen years for training, we can choose to set direction, develop character, and build momentum for an amazing future.

As you’ve read through this week-long devotional, you’ve probably thought of some hard things you’ve already done. You’ve probably also thought of hard things you dream of doing. As God leads you, we encourage you to throw yourself into doing these hard things with a passion. They are unique challenges God has prepared for you—they are what you were made to do. We challenge you to live not your easiest life but your best life according to God. You can be a part of changing the expectations for your generation. Starting now.

Write down the next step you will take in your life to do hard things.