Community for Struggling Teens

My name is Jyllenna. Before I even get into why I’m starting this blog, I want to let everyone know how my name is pronounced. I often read a book, and if I don’t know how to pronounce a character’s name, I kind of just make up a pronunciation in my head. But I don’t want that to happen. So, my name is pronounced “Jill” and “Enna.” Yes, my parents are very creative. So, now that I got that out of the way, here’s what I want to do in this blog.

            The last few years of my life have been, for lack of a better word, hell. Before you roll your eyes and think that this is just a place for me to whine, let me tell you it’s not. While I was going through hell, I did what many other teenagers do. I looked on the internet for help. It’s not the most logical thing to do. But, obviously you’re reading this, so I’m not the only one who thinks of going to the internet. When I looked online, though, all I found were websites offering help for parents dealing with troubled teens. Those are great. Parents are great. But I’m a teenager. My parents are often the first people I push away. I often don’t really want to talk to them. And, in all honesty, even the best parents can only do so much. I didn’t find any websites really specifically targeting people like me.

            And who am I? I’m almost sixteen. I’m a Christian. And I’ve struggled with depression, an eating disorder, self-loathing, and self-harm. Yikes, right. I don’t think, though, that I’m the only teenager—Christian or not—who’s struggled with that. I’m still fighting it. Through all my struggles, though, I’ve realized that God doesn’t judge me. The things that happened to me didn’t happen because I was in sin, though I’m certainly far from perfect. God didn’t cause what happened. But He helped me through it.

            So, this blog is to bring support to other teens. I’m going to touch subjects that are often a hush-hush among Christians. The things that I’m going to talk about are often misunderstood, and people have been unnecessarily hurt by other’s thoughtless comments. Here, I will share my story, things God has taught me through His Word and through men and women of God. I also want to encourage teens—myself included—to DO something. To stand for something. To not become another statistic of this generation.

            Whether you’re a Christian or not, I welcome you to join me. In my next post, I’ll start sharing my story, and we can go from there.

            If this is the last post you read, though, please read this:

            But Now God’s Message,

            Don’t be afraid. I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called you by name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you. That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.

Isaiah  43:3-4 (Message)

 

Love,

Jyllenna