Mom’s long-distance advice isn’t what teen wants to hear
DEAR ABBY: I am 17 and dating a 16-year-old girl. My mother lives a few states away. Every time we talk she tells me to spend less time with my girlfriend. It always seems like she’s trying to break us up. Please give me advice. I want her to want me to be in the relationship I’m in and to let me stay with her.
— Teen in Love in Pennsylvania
DEAR TEEN: Regardless of what you may think about what your mother is telling you, she is not the “enemy.” She may be worried that the more time you spend with your girlfriend, the less you will have to devote to your studies, sports, friends, etc. — all of which are important at your age. The two of you need to talk further about this, so there are no misunderstandings or hurt feelings.
P.S. Because your mother lives out of state, I assume you are living with your father or some other relative/guardian. It might be enlightening to know what the other adults in your life think about the amount of time you’re spending with your girlfriend. Perhaps you should ask them.
I am struggling to adapt to our accelerating technological world. When I remove myself from the rapid information cycle of the internet and social media, I feel the world is passing me by. I have tried to find a balance, but the ubiquity of technology and our cultural reliance on the internet leave me feeling like I have only two options at any given time —connection or disconnection —and neither one feels entirely healthy to me.
This isn’t the first case of technological advancement leading to rapid cultural change and a sense of dislocation, but at the current rate, it may be the most extreme. This is to say nothing of the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in our lives. Do you have any advice for maintaining one’s humanity while remaining culturally relevant in our increasingly technologydependent world?
— Floating in the Digital Age
DEAR FLOATING: Just this: Try harder to find a balance, because if you are constantly online, you will be swamped. Sometimes we must disconnect and enjoy the “real world” without the constant interruption of the latest news cycle. Trust me. You won’t miss much because the information will find its way to you.
DEAR ABBY: What is the proper way to handle the situation when you catch the host of a party double- or tripledipping into a bowl?
— Ick! In Larkgo, Fla.
DEAR ICK: That’s easy. Refrain from consuming anything from that bowl.
DEAR READERS: Happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere. This includes birth mothers, adoptive and foster mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers who are raising grandchildren, and dual-role dads. Orchids to all of you for the love you give every day.
UNIVERSAL UCLICK
There is only one sin that God cannot forgive — and that is the sin of refusing His forgiveness! No matter who we are or what we’ve done, God still loves us, and He promises to forgive us — totally and completely — if we will only turn to Him in repentance and faith.
Is this hard for us to accept? Yes, it is — because it’s not the way we usually treat each other. If someone hurts us in some small way or fails to be friendly to us (for example), we might resent it — but over time we’ll probably overlook it or forgive them. But if someone deeply hurts us or cheats us or lies about us, then we have a much harder time forgetting about it or forgiving them. The greater the hurt, the harder it is for us to forgive.
But God isn’t this way! Yes, we have offended Him by our sins — in fact, we’ve hurt Him far more deeply than we’ll ever hurt anyone else. And yet God still loves us, and He yearns for us to realize what we’ve done, and turn to Him in repentance and faith. God takes our forgiveness so seriously that He sent His Son into the world to die for our sins.
Don’t carry your burden of sin any longer. Turn instead to Jesus Christ, and in faith give your burden to Him. God’s promise is for you: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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