Life at sixteen.

[this is me. now at sixteen.]

I just turned sixteen. Sixteen years old. I look back in time and picture myself as the little 7 year-old who had almost no things to be responsible for. I just had to do my math, history, and english. And when I was not doing any of these, I would play dress-up, spies, go fishing, eat M & M's on the very top of a tree, or ask my dad for a piggy-back ride. All of a sudden, in the quickest blink of an eye, here I find myself, with sixteen years of age, sitting in front of my own computer, writing these words. I didn't realize how I every day I was growing, every day I was changing, every day I got closer to this day. Now that I think about the girl I was, I see: Things are different. Almost everything is.  
At sixteen, I have the desire to learn more about God and His Word. At seven, I would read the Bible and memorize simple passages. Today, I feel like I want to go deeper. What I want is to drink each word, each verse, each chapter. That's it. 
I really want to meditate, and learn from them. 
I just want to change. change. change. change. 
At sixteen, I have a much more broader understanding of life, the life in this world we live in. As I get older, I have more responsibilities. There are complications, unsteady roads, and twists on the way. And it's not always the easiest thing to make them straight. Every day there are important things that need to be taken care of. Sometimes there are things that cause struggles, things that make us stumble down. Things to understand. And even though I know I'm not perfectly able to change what is wrong into right, He can. And I am thankful. I thank Him for the life he has given me, no matter what. I thank Him for my past, those years when life was simpler, when it was easier. I thank Him for the present, for today, for this moment. I thank Him for making me as I am, for bringing me up to sixteen years of age. I thank Him for my future, that even though I do not know how it will be, He does. And. it. is. perfect. 
Life goes on. And we do too, tightly tied along with it. We grow and we change. We like and dislike. But whatever happens, in the end we are made to glorify Him, our maker, and thank Him for the beautiful life and love He has given us. 
-Annie ♥