Adolescence

Made in God’s Image

Let us make humankind in our image. (Gen. 1:26)

We are the clay, O Lord, and you are the potter. We are all the work of your hands. (Isaiah 64:8)

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. (Matt. 7:12)

Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in you. (St. Augustine)

Journey into adolescence

• What is puberty?• What does it mean to be an

adolescent?• Did you know that being an

adolescent takes work? And that you go through some very dramatic changes in e-v-e-r-y level of your life? No wonder you want to sleep late; it’s exhausting to be an adolescent!

Developmental levels

• Physical• Intellectual• Spiritual• Emotional• SocialWe are relational, that is, created to be

social beings, to be in relationship with one another, so we can serve one another according to God’s plan for us.

Developmental tasks of adolescence

Check the meter – where are you on these developmental tasks?

• Developing a capacity for friendship• Developing a healthy sexual identity• Developing a more mature parent-

child relationship

1 = So not there2-3 = Just started working on it4 = Nearly there5 = Got it covered

Our longing for relationship

• Because we are human beings, we have desires and longings. What are some longings that you have experienced?

• How do these desires or longings make you feel? Happy? Sad? Depressed? Disappointed?

• Are you ever completely satisfied, or is there always a “missing piece?”

Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece

Reflection time

Reflection on “Missing Piece” • What do you think the author could be saying

about our need to be in friendship with other people? Is it possible to outgrow a friendship and have to “move on”? Has this happened to you recently? Describe how you felt or would feel if this happened.

• Has your adolescent journey shown you that there is always a “missing piece” that needs to be fulfilled? What desires or longings are you trying to fulfill in your life right now?