Teen Revival
I’m Staying Strong
By Kalista King & Tiaira Cheatham 

Last week I was able to share about the ongoing battle teens are facing right now when it comes to unhealthy high school relationships. The enemy uses this as a main tool in his scheme to distract believers from their journey of following Christ to their fullest potential. I had mentioned something about giving one of the teens a chance to share who has been personally experiencing this battle, (along with many others). Though she is not here with me today to talk to you, she gave me permission to briefly share about a conversation we had recently on this topic of relational distractions in our journey of faith. 

As we were talking the other day, she shared with me a struggle in which she had faced recently which left her feeling both empty and unsatisfied. She began telling me about how often her mood depends on how other people treat her and talk to her. We then started to discuss how easy it is to feed off of the affection of others without realizing that our entire mood that day was based off of the way other people treated us. 

And when it comes to guys, this issue is taken to a whole other level. If we were to be honest, most teenage girls would say they will do as much as they can to get what they want to hear from other guys, and many times we are persistent to hear it. This is indeed a dangerous yet so very common thing to do. We teens can honestly admit that one of the hardest things to do is wait for God's perfect timing to bring us into healthy dating relationships that could one day lead to a healthy marriage. 

Though most teens do not put much thought into this matter, me and my friend think it is crucial to begin praying and seeking the Lord on this issue now, instead of just going with the flow and allowing Satan to intervene with our faith by distracting us with unhealthy relationships. 

As we continued with our conversation, we pretty much narrowed it down to two choices; we can either choose to feed off of the temporary affection of others and go on feeling empty and unsatisfied, or we can choose to get fulfillment from the love of God in which He so desperately longs to pour out on us. One of these loves is temporary and unsatisfying, the other is unfailing and eternally satisfying. With this being said, I would like to introduce another friend of mine that is here with me today who is going to share the testimony of her recent battles. With great pleasure, I introduce to you my best friend and sister in Christ, Tiaira Cheatham. 

Tiaira: Hi, I am not used to doing anything like this but it would be nice to share a little of my story. I moved to Greenville this year in March. I had no idea what I was doing here. I did not even want to stay, but I kept telling myself that things would work out no matter how bad I disliked my situation. Once I began school here things got a little easier. I had some stability again but still wanted to leave as soon as possible. I figured why not stay, finish school, and graduate so that I could move on, never having to deal with foster care again. 

My first day at Greenville Senior High School, I met Kalista King, I had no idea who she was or the influence that she would make in my life. She suggested that I go to F2F (Friend 2 Friend), so I did. Immediately something happened. I started to feel some kind of tug or pull, like I was being told to do something. But right away I had no idea what that was. The more I chose to show up every Tuesday morning, the more I realized what I was being told what to do and who it was telling me. 

It was God, calling me, reaching out to me. I knew then the decision I had to make. I had to turn my life over to him, completely surrender. I figured that was the only way life would get better and I would begin to feel peace and happiness. The day I chose to get saved, I felt so much joy it was incredible! I had joy for days actually. 

God had showed me so much. He opened my eyes to a lot of things that never seemed right to me for years. My life has been in God’s hands for a couple months now and things have not been easy. At first, after all the joy I felt, I kind of let go and forgot what God had done for me. That was the time that the devil was going to begin working overtime to turn me back around. For that past couple of weeks he has really been trying to bring me down through unhealthy relationships and I almost let him. 

But after talking to Kalista and remembering the joy God alone makes me feel, I realized that without him I won’t make it in this world. I want to feel peace, true happiness, real love, be successful in life, and provide for my daughter. I can honestly say that I trust the Lord. I do. I won’t get too far without doing so. I'm staying strong. Thanks for letting me share my story. God bless you