Youth Ministry Blog

Hey y’all!

I want to talk about the gray area today. I don’t know about you, but I despise the gray area. It frankly scares me. I much prefer things to be black or white. It’s easier and clearer and safer that way. This has gotten me into some trouble in the past.

This is a silly example, but I was watching The Princess Diaries (amazing movie, by the way) the other day, and a certain character stirred something up in me that was uncomfortable. Her name is Lilly, and she’s the best friend of the main character, Mia. I don’t like her one bit. She’s rude, controlling, egocentric, and an awful friend to Mia. But something happened in the movie that made me rethink my total disdain for the character.

Mia was getting made fun of by the majority of the students in her class, and Lilly spoke up boldly on Mia’s behalf. My initial reaction was “aww, that was nice”, which was promptly followed by “wait, I don’t like her, she can’t be nice”. See the problem there? I was limiting Lilly’s personhood and intricacy based on my judgments about her.

Take this example, and apply it to real life. So many times, we make judgments and decisions about people, things, and experiences and live our lives strictly according to those judgments. We are uncomfortable with the idea that maybe, just maybe, we weren’t entirely correct. I’ve missed out on positive relationships and experiences because of these judgments, and I’m sure you have too. 

Now, there’s even a bit of gray area in this topic. There are certain objective truths that are black and white, and we are called to believe and profess those truths. Many things, however, reside in the gray area. We can’t see everything as gray, but we also can’t see everything as black or white. It’s uncomfortable and difficult sometimes, but I think it’s healthy (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) to accept some gray area in our lives.

The reason this relates to our health is that health is rooted in reality. When we do or say or believe things that aren’t realistic, we become unhealthy to an extent. Take eating for example. When we eat more or less than is realistic on a consistent basis, we aren’t eating in a healthy way. Another example is our beliefs. When we believe things that are contrary to the truth, those beliefs are unhealthy. If we want to be rooted in reality, we have to accept a certain amount of gray area because that is the reality we live in. Another reason it’s unhealthy to completely avoid the gray area is because living in extremes all the time is taxing and tiring. I don’t know about you, but I’m super exhausted from leaping between the black and the white, and I think I’m ready to spend a little time in the gray area. Care to join me?

That’s all for now. Know of my prayers for you and your families, and please keep me and this ministry in your prayers.

Peace of Christ,

Miss Jessica

A.M.D.G.