I spoke too soon. The clouds have rolled back in, pouring rain for the past several days, trapping us inside. I love reading through my dad's bookshelves and I love spending time with my sisters. But we've been stuck inside for so long that I can't concentrate when I read and my heart isn't in it when we play. We need to get out. We are trapped.
I think this is not far from the modern teenager's daily experience. Trapped in an idle house. The Hornbrook house in Mexico City has a history of magnifying this experience and therefore I'm able to explore it deeper than many people can. Plus my sisters are really struggling with it right now (especially my sixteen-year-old sister, Natalie), so it would be very valuable for me to explore possible solutions. At the end of this post I'm going to ask for your suggestions. First let me give you an idea of what the problem is.
This is indeed a problem because when I went through my high school years, I filled my idle time with video games. I lived for video games. I slept away my blood-shot eyes and I woke up in the morning for video games. My god was video games. Even today, my lack of social skills often distracts me from focusing on other things. The same thing is happening to my sisters. Natalie seems dangerously close to living for Facebook.
There are a few factors that contribute to the magnitude of this problem. First, my sisters and I have all been home schooled as long as we've been in Mexico. Most kids fill their social needs with their circle of school friends. My sisters don't have that privilege.
In addition to that, we live in Mexico City, possibly the biggest city in the world, and often the loneliest city in the world. It is characterized by traffic jams, heavily armed policemen, homes fortified by barred windows and enclosed by walls and gates. Even though a third of the Mexican population is under fourteen-years-old, it is not a friendly place for teenagers to hang out. With kidnappings at an all-time high, we don't want to be wandering the streets. With transportation being such an obstacle, we rarely go anywhere.
But thank God for His church! Iglesia Nueva Vida is the church my dad has been growing for the past six years. Sunday is indeed a breath of fresh, life-giving air. Since we only see each other once a week, most of us hang out for two or three hours after the service! How many American churches do that? They are an exceptional group to hang out with. Every Sunday I thank God for giving my family such good friends.
But that's one day. It's over in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, it's Monday again with a long road of lonely days before us. Today is Thursday, and still Sunday seems so far away. Can you imagine the frustration? I'm not so concerned about myself since I have plenty of books to read, I accompany my dad in all his ministry outings, and I have plenty of blogs to write. I'm so proud of Natalie for lasting this long. Most kids in this situation would try to entertain themselves by rebelling against the rules of the house. My sisters aren't like that.
Maybe some biblical help would be good for us. Like an exploration of how to glorify God with our idle time and despite trapped circumstances. If you have any ideas please comment. I know we encounter more "trapped" people than it seems and it would be good to know how to help them in addition to ourselves. I hope to update on what I've learned later. Thank you so much for reading!
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