"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8

It isn't a secret that being 21 can bring many alcoholic temptations. Whether that be happy hour during the week, bar crawls on the weekends, "Wine and Dine Wednesdays", or "Tequila Tuesdays" with a side of tacos, there are always social events that include a heavy dose of alcohol. It also isn't a secret that as Christians, we are expected to read our bible before bed, say grace before meals, go to church on Sundays, and share the gospel to anyone we meet. How do you balance both lifestyles when you're in college? You don't.

I am not going to tell you that I read my Bible every day, remember to say grace before all of my meals, go to church every single Sunday, or share the gospel to everyone I meet. On the other hand, I am also not going to tell you that I partake in social events where drinking is the key purpose. I had to make choices when I came to college. I had to decide where I would fit in while making my friends happy, me happy, and most importantly, Him happy. I chose to stay in on the weekends and watch all three High School Musical movies consecutively, search Pinterest for yummy recipes and fail in the making of them, or rearrange my bedroom after watching 8 episodes of Fixer Upper. I realized that listening to Hillsong United on Pandora every morning would make my day 100 times better than listening to Justin Bieber or Sam Hunt. (Even though Despacito and Body Like A Back Road are FIRE!!!) I realized that the friends that made me the most comfortable to be around also didn't go out on the weekends, sleep through their classes to surpass their hangover, or use fake ID's to drink away their stress. I began surrounding myself with other people who lived for Him.

21 is a weird age. We are expected to drink when we go out to eat and if we don't, we prepare ourselves for the funny stare people will give us. It is also uncommon to love Jesus with all of your heart at this age. Breaking stereotypes and not conforming can be a tough battle to fight. That's where Jesus comes in. When we put our troubles, our trust, our love, and our lives in His hands, He will take our black and white lives and turn them into color. It takes confidence, courage, resilience, and love to choose Jesus at 21. We have to stand up to our peers and say no to drinking sometimes. We have to forego that second glass of wine on Saturday night so we can wake up early on Sunday morning. We have to learn how to choose Jesus; sometimes that can be the hardest part.

"Let us choose for ourselves what is right; Let us know among ourselves what is good." Job 34:4

Learning to love Jesus in my twenties has been incredibly hard. I have suffered many lonely nights when all of my friends are out, and I am alone. I have sat in the back pew at church questioning my choices from the previous week. I have cried and complained about being stressed out or angry. I felt a void in my heart that was unbearable. I was losing friends, fighting with my boyfriend, ignoring my responsibilities, and most importantly, turning my back to Jesus. I tried filling this void with Disney movies, yummy foods, family time, extra naps, and going to the gym. All of them helped at first, but it was only a band-aid on the actual problem. I was missing Jesus. I was forgetting to live for him; instead I was just living with him.

I know what you're thinking. What is the difference between for and with? Living with Jesus means passively living. Living for Jesus means living with a purpose. Living for Jesus means skipping out on social drinking sometimes and choosing to drive around with Christian music blaring out the windows. Living with Jesus means assuming that church on Sunday morning will patch up the mistakes you made at the party Saturday night. I've done both, and at 21 I have realized that living for Jesus fills the void in my heart and allows me to be confident in my decisions. Do I drink? Yes. Do I know how to say no when I don't want to? Yes. Can you choose to love Jesus at 21? Absolutely.