It’s been a long time since you were 16, and you’ve had experiences your younger self could never have imagined. What do you know now that you wish you’d known then? Maybe it’s something you learned about dating, how to ask a girl out right, give a boy a clue, steer clear of temptations, and make God proud of the way you pursued a spouse. Or maybe it’s about making friends. We could have all used some help figuring out how to put ourselves out there, dealing with the rejections that will come, and understanding God defines our worth, not the bullies and means girls. Maybe you’d want to share how to budget, because this is the age when you were just learning how to manage your money. Or would you want to set yourself up for the long haul, sharing lessons about marriage and parenting or running a business. Maybe you now have a glimmering of what God accomplishes in us through our suffering. And maybe you made a mistake – a painful one – and you’d love to save someone from having to learn that same lesson the hard way.
Reformed Perspective is running a new contest inviting older Christians to look back and ask:
“If I could sit down with my 16-year-old self for a day, an hour, or even 5 minutes, what would I want to tell him or her?”
Older saints are sometimes hesitant to give younger people advice. We don’t want to seem pushy. We don’t want to sound like we have all the answers… because if there’s one thing we’ve learned by now, it’s that we certainly don’t. And we might not be all that eager to share the toughest lessons we learned because they were caused by our own errors, foolishness, or actions we now regret.
But God has given you a lifetime of experiences, and like every other talent (Matt. 25:14-30), He wants you to make something of them – He wants an increase out of them.
So what should you be sharing, so your younger brothers and sisters can benefit?
TWO WAYS TO ENTER
1. Nugget worth knowing
Submit a bite-sized lesson: it can be a single warning or encouragement, and it can be just a paragraph or two and a hundred words or so. You can start it off with: “I’d tell my 16-year-old self…” We’d love to get dozens, or hundreds of these nuggets. It doesn’t have to take long. Share them with us as they come to you!
2. Letter or article
Submit a full-length article, anywhere from 600 to 1,500 words, sharing lessons you’ve learned. You could make it a letter addressed to your 16-year-old self, or you could make it an article about things you wish your 16-year-old self had known. Have fun with it. Or deliver it plain-spoken. But be sure to get your advice down.
God’s given you a lifetime of lessons, and put you in a church body that can benefit. So don’t keep what you know to yourself.
Submissions: [email protected]
Deadline: January 15, 2027
Prizes: Between $50 and $300 for entries published in the magazine