From Stella

Hello Hi-Koi! 

Just in case some of you don’t know me- my name is Stella and I’m a counselor in Kristy’s small group (#glamour). If you attended Sunday School, yes, my dad is Uncle Hon. If you were in Acteens, yes, my sister is Christine. But I’m more than who I’m related to! I was once a high schooler. I wanted to get good grades and go to a good college. I volunteered at the hospital. I joined clubs like speech and debate.  I had a crush on a guy in my math class. I didn’t like a few of my teachers. The list goes on. So I want to tell you about probably my biggest transformation in high school and I hope it resonates with several, a few, or at least one of you. 

Here it is- I realized God had given me a voice. I’m not referring to singing well because I sing quite horribly and off-tuned. I realized that God had made me as I am and that includes my opinions, my thoughts. God knows all my thoughts, even future thoughts and thoughts I don’t say out loud, so I could be real with Him. There’s no such thing as saying the wrong thing to God. Before high school, I would rarely talk to anyone who was not my friend. I wasn’t trying to be unfriendly because sometimes I would want to talk to someone who seemed alone. But I was scared to say something stupid or the wrong thing, scared of rejection, scared of making a bad impression. And so I would stay quiet and sometimes I wished I had the courage to say something but I brushed it off. I can’t pin it on one day, one epiphany but God started to help me let go of the insecurities that would keep me from talking. Rather than holding onto the standards of my peers or of popular teenage culture, God started teaching me to hold onto the truth that I have immeasurable value in His eyes. 

So if there is something you are holding onto that stresses you, that keeps you from doing what you truly want to do, that kind of eats away at you- I encourage you strongly to ask God to help you realize that you are His child and to help you to hold onto Him more tightly than anything else in the world. 

Thank you for reading! If you ever want to talk to me or want me to pray for you, don’t be afraid to talk to me! See you at Hi-Koi!