Spotlight

 W

e
l
l,
b
a
c
k
to
the
spot-
light.
I bet you
can't believe
that you're here
again. It's like it all comes rushing back, as
if four years ago was yesterday. I bet you never in a million
years thought you'd have to go through all of this again. Everyone is hurt.
Everyone is upset. Everyone feels lost. People you have never met are following this story
on the edge of their seats. "Gortsema" has become a household name, whispered speculations and whispered prayers. Even people who have never met Riley know her story, know what she's been through, know what you've been through. And the question remains: Why? Why her? Why now? Why you? Why, God? Why did this happen? Why? The questions will drive you crazy. They say that, in this kind of situation, all you can do is pray. But they never tell you how to pray when you can't find the words. It's easy to say, "She's in Heaven," but that doesn't really help you, does it? She's not here. "She's not suffering anymore," they'll say. But such small comfort that is. It's okay to want her back. It's okay to want both of them back. "God bears your pain," but it's pretty hard to understand that when
it feels like God disappeared. And in the end,
together with your pain and confusion, you're
back in this hellish spotlight.

It's Okay.

This is a list of things you don't hear in our culture.

1. It's okay to not go to college after you finish high school. 
2. It's okay to stop going to college if it's not the thing for you. 
3. It's okay to take a year off from school if you're not sure what you're doing there in the first place. And if that year turns into several years or not going back at all, that's okay too. 
4. It's okay to go to community college. They are just as academically rigorous as 4-year state colleges. Their quality is just as high. And hello, they cost a fraction of the price of other colleges! 
5. It's okay to not know what you want to do when you graduate from high school.
6. It's okay to not know what you want to do when you graduate from college.
7. It's okay to not get perfect grades. Your grades don't define you. 
8. It's okay to fail. It doesn't make you a failure. 
9. It's okay to not like kids. 
10. It's okay to not want to have kids. 
11. It's okay to work a job that doesn't give you lots of money, especially if you love that job. 
12. It's okay to not be happy all the time. 
13. It's okay to live with your parents (though you should probably check with them as to how long their welcome will last). 
14. It's okay to not fulfill everyone else's expectations all the time. 
15. It's okay to not fulfill your own expectations all the time. 
16. It's okay to feel far away from God from time to time. 
17. It's okay to wonder if God even cares about what happens to you. 
18. It's okay to cry, even for guys. It's not a sign of weakness.
19. It's okay to not be perfect. 
20. It's okay to not be doing great things all the time. 
21. It's okay to be you.