Bursting Forth Our Bubbles!featured
Hello neighbor!
Isn’t it sad that at times we can live in a bubble? Most of the time the only people we contact are those with whom we feel comfortable such as our family, friends, and co-workers. We mainly interact with those whose views are similar to ours. We are creatures of habit and do the same things over and over again.
In this blog, I share a few concerning things, perhaps just the tip of the iceberg, of how much our young adults need prayer and shepherding. Our teenagers and young adults need help with breaking forth out of their bubble, but don’t we all need to?
Have you noticed how much lack of drive teenagers and young adults have? Have you noticed how “blah” they always feel or behave? One of the brothers at our church recently said, “Satan knows his time is near, and he knows that God needs the young people, so he is more than ever focusing his attack on the young people, because God needs the young generation to bring the Lord Jesus back.”
I believe the following points are concerning facts seen with young adults that are definitely keeping them from bursting forth their bubble, and we need to pray for them more than ever:
- Dennis Praguer mentioned in his recent Praguer U video that “Suicide is at an all-time high”. Please click here to watch it. The loss of a person to suicide is horrible, but loose a young one to suicide is beyond human words.
- Depression rates keep increasing, including the use of anti-depressants, especially among women. As a primary care physician, most of the young adults that I see at the clinic are actually on anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications. Actually, “there was a 15% jump in the number of people taking antidepressants from 2015 through 2019 in the Unites states, and among teens (13-19 years old), the use of these medications (anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and anti-insomnia medications) increased by 38%,” according to an Express- Scripts article, which you can click here to read more about it.
- The rate of marihuana use keeps increasing among young adults. While some of my adult patients use it for therapeutic purpose such as chronic pain, insomnia and other applications, the use of THC in young people has long term sequela (click here to listen to this August 2023 Annals on Call podcast) that includes psychosis, anxiety, and depression. In a 2021 NIH-led study, they showed that the percentage of young adults who have used marihuana in 2021 was 43%, having greatly increased from 29% in 2011 (“Marihuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached all-time high in 2021“).
- And check out this from an article titled, “Time Spent Playing Video Games Continues to Rise”, from October, 2021: More than 70% of Americans that play video games average about 16.5 hours per week. I don’t know about you, but playing video games that many hours is way too much, and it’s enough for a wonderful hobby, time with family or friends, or even a part time job!
Our teenagers and young adults are being robbed of their health, innocence, time, and ultimately, their lives. Yes, it can be hard to get their attention, but we need to go to the Lord and see how He will lead us in caring for our young ones. In the following points, I share some ideas on how to help them “burst forth their bubble” and “launch on their own”. Mind you, I am no expert. I am a father of three young boys, aged 2, 4, and 6 and I have a long way to go:
- Let’s start right in our back yards. Have you thought of growing micro-greens or starting a vegetable garden? If you or your young one are interested in growing nutritious food, this would be a good idea. I personally have grown tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and other things and never stop amazing me how fruits or vegetables grow and mature.
- Here’s another idea that will cause anyone to grow and mature and will pay many dividends into the future: Volunteer at a hospital. Not only will it look good on a curriculum vitae, but volunteering at a hospital will be a memorable experience for the rest of your life or the life of a young person, even if you or they decide not to get into medicine.
- Knock at your neighbor’s door to say hi to him or her. Do you have a friendly neighbor that keeps waving “hi” to you and the months or years go by but you don’t know each other? Well, I propose that you knock at their door and officially introduce yourself to them, get them some cookies. A brother from one of our local churches once said, “the gospel is loving people and getting to know them.”
- A little more ambitious for yourself or a young adult would include starting a non-profit organization. Here are some ideas: recycling left over food from restaurants to feed pigs or chickens for meat; providing free guitar, piano, or painting classes to veterans. Start a windmill or solar energy enterprise in a third world country.
- Here’s something that may cost a bit more money, but perhaps there may be resources such as a scholarship or a fund from a school or college that can be tapped: Take some courses in a different country and submerge into a different culture where you get to eat different food and learn a new language.
I realize that the things I am proposing may be too “retro” or “old-fashioned”. It may be, but perhaps we all need to detach a bit more from our devices, especially young ones, for the healing of our minds. Praise the Lord that His mercy reaches farther and He can be our strength and endurance to help us be that group of people that has a heart for what’s in God’s heart.
God bless you richly with His presence. Please drop a comment or a question below.
Next
