Welcome to the Pipeline. Let us say again, you are welcome here! You can head over to the couches or maybe sit around the tables with your friends. Order yourself a fruit smoothie, a cafe latte, or a power drink and kick back as we look into various subjects that deal with life, the show and more. “Handle It”
In the world of Carter’s Crew there are many types of characters with different backgrounds, life experiences and views and because of these views the way they handle life situations is different too. Life, as we all know, can throw us some curve balls and we find ourselves facing difficult situations; like a friend who starts hanging with the wrong crowd, a loved one becomes ill, we start to feel far from God, someone at school targets you for pranks or picks on you, or we're facing the effects of the choices we’ve made. Let’s take a moment to look at how some of the characters in the series “handle it” and what we can do in real life when things come our way.
K.C. for example, when tough times come his way, depending on his mood, he either take’s his frustration out on others and that could mean joking/picking on someone or even physically bullying them or (as K.C. does often) ignores difficult situations, hoping they’ll go away instead of confronting them. So he parties till the break of dawn or heads out to underground race (illegal racing), burying his feelings in meaningless things. As you’ve read K.C.’s come from a rough background and having to handle tough situations is something he’s dealt with as long as he can remember.
Carter: When challenges come his way, (like all of us) he feels the pressure of the situation, but instead of ignoring them he takes his problems head on and looks to the Lord for help and guidance. Sometimes he can forget (like all of us do from time to time) that there are things beyond his control that he just can’t fix; and it’s those times that he really has to dig deep and lean on the Lord. As you’ll see in the series many of the things he and the rest of the characters of the series will face will challenge how they “handle things.”
Tina, when faced with tough situations, internalizes them, meaning she bottles her feelings inside about what’s going on and blames herself. Because of her problems with self esteem, she often lets situations overwhelm her, which leads to her becoming a loner, and having feelings of depression. At times she feels even deserves what’s happening to her and that her situation is hopeless.
Selena, on the other hand, handles things differently than Tina. She most certainly doesn’t keep things bottled inside and she handles her situations by talking them out with her friends, her youth group leader Jerrica, her mother and especially the Lord. Prayer, for Selena, is something real and something helpful and not something you do just before you go to sleep at night. She realizes that He is actually listening and cares, no matter what the situation looks like.
So, how do you handle things? What is the right way to handle tough times? Well, if we take a look at Philippians 4:4 it can give us a clue! There’s a scripture that says” be anxious for nothing.” Does that mean you can’t be concerned or nervous when you’re worried about your grades, or waiting to hear back about a health report? Not at all! God just wants you to know and remember that you don’t have to “handle it” alone. You can place the fear, the worry, everything in his hands and He’ll walk with you through whatever you may go through.
As the verse continues we read “and the peace that transcends (another words surpasses or goes beyond) all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” That means again He will protect your heart and your mind from being overwhelmed. For the Lord is your hope and your strength!
