... THE ANCHOR - Diocese of Fall River - Fri., Jan. 9, 1998
Our Rock
Coming of
and Role Ma~e
plans for the year ahead By CHARLIE
We were strangers starting out on a journey Never dreaming what we'd have to go though. Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing At the beginning with you. No one told me I was going to find you. Unexpected what you did to my heart. When I lost hope you were there to remind me.· This is the start. Refrain: Life is a road and I want to keep going. Love is a river I want to keep flowing. Life is a road -Now and forev~r Wonderful journey. I'll be there when the world stops turning. I'll be there when the storm is through. In the end I want to be standing At the beginning with you. We were strangers on a crazy adventure Never dreaming How our dreams would come true. Now here we stand unafraid of the future At the beginning with you. (Repeat refrain) I knew there was somebody somewhere Like me alone in the dark. Now I know my dream will live on. I've been waiting so long. . Nothing's going to tear us apart. (Repeat refrain) Life is a'road and I want to keep going. Love is a river and I want to keep flowing. Starting out on a journey, Life is.a road and I want to keep going. Love is a river and I want to keep flowing. In the end, I want to be standing . At the beginning with you. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty Sung by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis Copyright (c) 1997 by 20th Century Fox Film Corp.lAtiantic Recording Corp. (for United States) and WEA International (outside United States) A BEGINNING point in life can be exciting. It is a time to feel hope and the promise of something new. "At the Beginning" is a song from the feature animation film "Anastasia." Richard
fige FORYOOTH
MARTIN
At the Beginning
Marx and Donna Lewis sing that "life is a road, and I want to keep going; love is a river I want to keep flowing." At a beginning point in our lives, we sense that things can be different, and indeed they
can. However, much depends on our road map. Is it accurate and detailed enough for the journey we are planning? No one can know all the detours and surprises that lie ahead. The promise of future events can also be accompanied by our uncertainty and fear. No road map reveals everything. Yet we can plan where we want to go - ~uring the year ahead, for example. If you are a teen who wants to tap into the promise of the new year, how do you set goals to guide your journey? . Here are some suggestions. 1. Be "focused." Don't think only about having a better year. Consider specific aspects of your life that would be more satisfying if change occurred. Better grades? More income? New friends? 2. Be "possible." It does little good to set a goal over which you have no control. For example, getting a raise in your after-school job is not your decision. The goal you can set is to make the improved effort that will get your manager's attention and create the opportunity for a raise. 3. Be "planned." Write out the small steps that will lead to change. Look at a week's time. What will you accomplish this week that will help you reach your goal? 4. Be "short term." Actually, six-month goals are more'at~ tainable than year-long ones. We have more d~ive when we keep the end in sight. If you want· to make a significant change, break it down into short-term, smaller goals. 5. Be "collaborative." Tell trusted friends of your goals and ask them to check with you on how you are doing. Support from others is key to our success. Share with God what you have set as your goals. God has given each of us this new year. God sees that we stand "at the beginning."
Your comments are always welcome. Please address: CharlUe Martin, 7125 W 2008, Rockport, Ind. 47635.
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ABOOT YOOTH
What teens can do to prepare for Dlarriage By AMY WELBORN CATHOLIC
News
SERVICE
A few years ago - not so long, it seems - Lauren sat in the front row of theology class watching me teach, her pen poised above the clean pages of an open notebook, a disapproving glance ready to shoot back to her misbehaving classmates. Yesterday my former student and I switched places, so to speak. I sat watching her this time, but I wasn't in a classroom. I was seated in a church pew, watching Lauren get married. It was a strange feeling. It didn't seem as if she should be old enough to get married, but she is, just graduated from college, off with her new husband to graduate school. All around me were her friends from that class, several of whom are getting married over the next few months. Joey and Susan next summer, Annie next May, and even Lauren's own sister, a year younger, a girl whom I also taught and who, incidentally, sat in the front row with the same disapproving glance in her arsenal. She's getting married next August. There's a part of me that wants to scream out at these young adults: "Don't do it! You're way too young!" But they're not askingmy opinion, although I did have my chance in the days I taught them their course in Christian lifestyles, the traditional senior religion course. Often when I'm teaching that course, I stand there thinking: "This is dumb. Why are we sitting here discussing marriage when it's so far off for these kids? Shouldn't I be teaching something more pertinent to their immediate lives?" Of course, that's what I was doing, as I realized yesterday. Those of us who teach and minister to teens like to think we are preparing them for the future, intellectually, socially, spiritually and emotionally. Oddly enough, the ideas and issues we discuss with them when they're in high school do indeed point toward the days when they'll be taking huge steps like Lauren did yesterday. So, though it seems an eternity away, what are some things a teen can do today to improve the
chances of embarking on a successful happy marriage? First, kriow yourself and be honest about yourself. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, your desires and needs. Act out of confidence and appreciation of yourself, not out of the need for others' approval. Too many young people fall into relationships, not because they are happy with who they are and want to share that contented life with another, but rather because they feel bad about themselves and have a need to be affirmed. Those relationships don't last and aren't healthy. Second, focus on other people as friends, not possible romantic partners. View them as people first, individuals on their own life journeys, worthy of respect - not potential possessions only important in their relation to you. Third, use your sexuality responsibly. The less respect you have for your own sexuality and that of others, the more you see sexuality as a meaningless game, the less chance you will have of being faithful in a relationship. The habits you form now are powerful. Treat others with respect and see your own life as a precious gift from God worth sharing intimately only with people who offer respect in turn. Destructive behavioral habits won't be broken just by taking a marriage vow. . Most of you will indeed marry, and one of the keys to success in marriage is developi ng, right now, into the very best person you can be.
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PRAy FOR
ClllIDREN
... '.