The Ungrateful Teenager

Theme / Holiday Celebration

Read Time / 2 Minutes

I was 15 years old and a brat.

Being a young teenager was an exciting and challenging time of life.  It’s a special season where a youngster experiences new levels of independence.  You are encouraged to build community outside of the four walls of your home while being presented with certain parental and governmental boundaries.

Hoping to spend time with my inner circle of friends, I asked my parents to drop me off at a friend’s house, who lived in a neighboring city.  Wrestling with whether they could afford the time, my parents concluded it was best for me to stay home.  I responded how any reasonable 15-year-old would.  I threw a tantrum.  “How could they keep me from my friends,” I thought, “If only I was old enough to drive…  if only my parents really cared about me… if only… if only..”  Needless to say, an attitude adjustment was needed.

Maintaining an appropriate perspective is not easy when we are confronted with adversity.  Though our emotions may not have the same hold on us as they once did, there continues to be a call to master how we respond to disappointment. 

The million-dollar question is how we handle discomfort with grace.  The answer is simple: gratitude.  Come on, this is a Thanksgiving blog.  You knew this was coming.  Gratitude breaks the power of toxic emotions. 

In a Berkeley study, participates who wrote weekly appreciation letters experienced increased joy levels.  Slowing down our “busy life” to show one another appreciation realigns our perspective.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 profoundly states, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  This is a beautiful picture of life.  Our mission isn’t how to minimize discomfort, but to simply give thanks for where we are — recognizing life, in its delight and affliction, is a gift.

Most of us can be positive through prosperity.  My challenge to us today is the same as to the 15-year-old me.  What does it look like to celebrate even in conflict?

As a teenager, I was blind to the simple beauty I had parents to ask.

Ryan De Amicis

Wealth Advisor

408.758.6413

ryan@christianwm.com