Youth The Gift of Jen

 

(By Josi S. Kilpack

The author lives in Utah, USA.)

I made a series of wrong choices my sophomore year of high school. Those choices led to serious consequences and unhappiness, and I decided to use my summer break to begin making changes. When school started again, I ate lunch in a bathroom stall or empty hallway to avoid the bad relationships waiting to welcome me back.

I had never felt so alone.

Then God gave me a gift: He sent me Jen. She never judged me for my mistakes but instead encouraged me to keep moving in the right direction. Knowing she would be at school helped me continue to read my scriptures and nurture my testimony. By the time graduation came, I had proven to myself that I was committed to change.

I wonder sometimes where I would be today if Jen hadn’t reached out to me. Could I have stuck to my principles without her? Luckily, I will never know because she was there with her whole heart, ready and willing to help me