Dare to Be Different by Nicole O'Dell

contact with hundreds of kids. They were all very sick and needed to be taught better hygiene, better nutrition, and how to use the medications that we provided. There were so many children and adults who needed to be seen that there was no way for the doctors to see them all, so I had to see patients as if I were a doctor. I learned about what to look for and what medication to give, and I would share it with a doctor or nurse and they would approve or change my decision. It was so empowering to be able to have that kind of impact. Life changing, really.” Rob finished his testimony, shaking his head at the memories.
    “Thanks so much for sharing with us, Rob. Does anyone have questions for him?” Pastor Steve asked the group.
    “How did you get involved with this missions team?” Scott asked.
    “My parents’ friend is a doctor, and he was in charge of putting the teams together. I was therewhen he was talking to my mom and dad, so I asked if I could do it.”
    “Will you get to do it again, and how do you think it will affect your future?” Lindsay asked.
    “Yes, I will do it every summer that I am able until I am old enough to make a permanent decision about where I feel God is leading me to serve. My future? My future will be in service to God. I can’t say for sure that He will have me do this forever, but I would. Whatever He has for me is fine with me.”
    “You know,” the minister interrupted, “this is a good time to share my brief message with you, and then we can go back to testimonies if anyone else has something to share. But Rob’s testimony and devotion to serving God is so inspiring to me, and it brings me to a point. What is your life about? What is important to you? Really think about it. Yes, you are all in middle school and high school, and you’re young. But who decides what too young is? Does God have age limits?”
    He paused between each question to allow the students to consider them. “Rob did very grown-up things this summer in service to God and received untold blessings from the experience.
    What was your summer about? If you could define it in one word, what would you say the theme of your summer was?” Until that point, the questions hadn’t needed an answer, but this time, the minister waited. “Let me rephrase my question. Tell me the one-word theme of your summer.”
    Lindsay paused for a moment, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, knowing exactly what her answer was. “Me. The one-word theme of my summer was me.”
    “Thank you for your honesty, Lindsay. Such is the truth with most of us. And it’s never just our summers. Young people, correct me if I’m wrong.” He looked around and made eye contact with the students in order to drive his point home. “The majority of your day, your life is spent focused on your pursuits—education, fun, experiences, material desires. Your basic needs and more are met for you. You don’t have to think about where your next meal will come from. You don’t have to wonder if you will be able to complete your education. You never wonder if you will receive medical treatment if you need it. With those things out of the way, you are left plenty of time to pursue the thingsthat bring you pleasure. And you do it so well.
    We all do.”
    “Well …,” Scott interrupted with a perplexed look on his face.
    “Yes, Scott, what are you thinking?”
    “What are you saying? That we shouldn’t be kids, we shouldn’t be teenagers, and we shouldn’t have the care that our parents give us? Are we wrong for going after an education and saving up for a car and stuff?”
    “Well, some questions can only be answered between you and God, because I don’t know your heart. But I’m certainly not saying that any of those things are absolutely wrong. But if they are propelled by an entitlement attitude—an attitude that suggests that you
deserve
all of those things—then yes, they become wrong because of that attitude.
    The Bible tells us in