Lessons from Christy Miller

I'm guessing that in many ways, I fit quite neatly into "a box" - I'm a Christian girl, I'm quite conservative, I was homeschooled, I wear long skirts and dresses, I have long hair, I live at home with my parents, I'm committed to courtship. And so on ...

(Actually, in many ways, I don't fit neatly into "a box," but that's a whole other post ...)

So when, while researching the world of contemporary Christian novels, I came across the Christy Miller books by Robin Jones Gunn, I thought I knew what I was getting into. Honestly (yes ... it is embarrassing to admit this!), my expectations were ... seriously ... low.

And seriously ... wrong.

Why? Because in Christy - a teen girl who goes to highschool and youthgroup, wears jeans and shorts, dates and isn't specifically saving her first kiss for her wedding day - I found a kindred spirit. I'm still surprised! I'm one kind of girl and Christy is another kind of girl, right? In many ways, yes. In many ways, no ... because Christy is "a Christian girl," too. Sure, like me she has joys and sorrows, triumphs and failures. But above and beyond those things (which unite all of mankind), there are the things which unite believers - things like love for God, overflowing into love for other believers and compassion for "the lost" ... like me, Christy tries to live a life pleasing to God and yearns for a deeper relationship with God, wanting to become the women He created her to be ...

I believe my standards are important. I'm not planning to compromise them - I'm not sorry I was homeschooled. I'm not sorry I spent my teen years wearing long skirts and dresses. I'm not sorry I spent my teen years dreaming about Prince Charming rather than wondering who liked who and waiting to be asked out on a date ... and I'm not sorry I'm committed to courtship and saving my first kiss for my husband on our wedding day!

But ... I'm sorry I spent my teen years looking at the Christy Miller's in my life and judging them for going to highschool/youthgroup ... wearing jeans and shorts ... dating and (occasionally) kissing their boyfriends. I'm sorry I used my standards in the wrong way, to divide me from girls who were kindred spirits - because, like me and like Christy, they loved God and tried to live a life pleasing to Him, yearning for a deeper relationship with Him and wanting to be the women He created them to be ...

It's important that we walk "the straight and narrow path" and rise above our cultural expectations to follow our Jesus - but it's important that we don't judge and condemn the Christy Millers in our lives. We might have more in common than we realise (or want to admit) and we might - just might! - learn something from walking and talking with them ...

Because, ultimately, it doesn't matter how long we were homeschooled or how long our skirts and dresses are or how deeply we're committed to courtship ... ultimately, we're just like Christy and her friends - because like them, we're "God-lovers," right?