Going to a party?

Do you like to go to parties? Most kids do, but I remember when I didn't. I'd get scared - scared that I wouldn't look right or that I'd do something wrong, or that maybe no one would talk to me, or want to dance with me.

Then a friend told me something that changed things for me. "When you go to a party," she said,"don't go to 'get,' go to 'give.' "

That was a new idea. I'd been going to a party, totally thinking about myself, about the fun I'd have, and about what the other kids might think of me. Instead, she showed me that I could go and be a part of giving the party. I could give smiles to everyone there. I could talk to everyone I met. I could compliment others or give praise for something great I knew they'd done. I could think about the other kids instead of myself. Most everyone wants to be with someone like that. That's what I tried to do, and after a while I started having lots more fun at parties.

My thinking had shifted. This change wasn't a phony pretending to care about others kind of thing, but a real change in how I thought. And that changed how I acted at a party. I learned how to be happy with who I am.

The Bible says that God makes us like Him, in His image, His likeness. So we must be wonderful. Everything about us is spiritual and good, like God. There isn't something missing in us. We have all the fun qualities, and the smart qualities, and the good, cool qualities that make others like us and want to be with us. And God is showing us how to use those qualities to be helpful to others.

God wants us to know how just-right we are, and so He reassures us, saying, "I made you. You are like me, and so you are very good." And since God says you're good, you really must be good.

Sometimes kids want to be like everyone else. Adults feel this way sometimes, too. But if everyone were the same, that would be boring. Each of us is special. Not like anyone else. Each of us is like God in a totally individual way. So we're distinct and important. Because no one else can be or do anything exactly like us, we're needed.

At a party, your special way of being happy and showing your happiness gives something to the party that no one else can bring.

You can know that you're OK (because that's how God made you), and you can know that God loves you (because God is Love). Then you won't worry if you're good enough or if people like you. Instead you'll be confident and happy because you know that you are this wonderful child of God. Your happiness can spill out and touch everyone around you. Actually, that's what God needs you to be doing - sharing your happiness with others.

In a book called "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy, wrote that happiness comes from God. So we must have lots of it, and it will never run out. We need to share it. "Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it."

Are you going to a party? Go prepared to "give" to the party. You can give your smile, your sense of humor, and your unselfish caring. You'll make the party better because you're there. You'll have a good time, and so will the other kids you meet.