Change the world for God’s Kingdom.

Tyna Vayalilkollattu

If you’ve recently heard the phrase “you’re just a child”... and your nearest response was “I am not JUST A CHILD!”... then, this is for you.  Because I’ve been there and I’m there right now, but over the years I’ve learned to change my response to “Dear God, HELP ME... again!”.  And I hope and pray that what I write and say to you will help you change your response too.

My name is Tyna, I was born and raised in Canada, to Malayalee parents, in what can be called a “Christian” home. I grew up reading my Bible every day, and saying my prayers each night, but in all honesty I had no idea who God was... and Jesus... he was the man in the nice Bible stories I heard in Sunday School...and the Holy Spirit... well, I was scared of him, because I had a King James Bible and they called him the Holy Ghost.  Salvation was a word I could hardly spell, and sin... I thought it was just something bad. 

I was 7 years old when I knew that I wanted Jesus.  I had just finished proving my Biblical expertise by reciting Psalm 23 to the person who would in that moment lead me to having a relationship with God. When I had finished, she leaned toward me and said, “That’s very good.  Now, do you know what that means?”  I just looked back at her.  No one had ever asked me if I knew what a memory verse meant, and I didn’t know they were supposed to mean something??!!  Finally, I shook my head “No, I don’t know”, she then began to tell me “Jesus is the shepherd, and if you let him into your heart, and take away your sin, he will lead you beside peaceful waters, and take care of you for always”.  That sounded really good to me!  After our visit, I remember going up to my room, kneeling beside my bed, with my hands folded I said “Jesus, I want you to lead me beside the still waters, so please come into my heart”.  Nothing happened.  I opened one eye to see if Jesus was there.  Nope.  I looked down at where my heart should be.  Nope, he wasn’t there either.  But now as I look back on that day, I can truthfully tell you, Jesus answered that prayer, and that was the day He changed my life forever.

Since then, I’ve had spiritual, emotional, relational highs and lows.  I’ve had really good experiences in my life, and I’ve had really bad ones.  But through it all, Jesus has been faithful to my little prayer I made over 16 years ago and has continued to “lead me beside still waters”.  One of my greatest passions in serving in God’s Kingdom is doing youth work.  I’ve been blessed to be a part of a church that has enabled me to grow my gifting as a youth leader and mentor.  Not to mention, I personally love seeing youth realize their potential in God and walk the path God has for them.  I’m a firm believer in the idea that this generation of young people will shake this world up!

Having grown up in a fairly traditional Indian home in a country that’s not India, it’s been hard meeting expectations, of different people, cultures, traditions, values, and opinions.  But I’ve learned over the years that it’s possible... the key is to tip the scale toward God’s expectations.   Having met some expectations that were required of me, I now challenge youth to meet God’s expectations for them.  So I leave you with this, (I said this to my youth before I left them to follow God’s path for me):

I don’t expect you to be the most important people in the world, or the richest, or have the biggest house, or the best job, or the perfect life that everyone wishes they had.  I just expect you to change the world.  Change the world for God’s Kingdom.